Tainted Demon Eyes
by Nes Mikel
Summary: AU: Just what would have happened if Naruto weren’t the one to have the ninetails sealed within him, but someone else? And what if the role switching didn’t end there…? Just how different will the Hidden Leaf be?
1. Flowers Never Bend With the Rainfall

"**_Tainted Demon Eyes"_**

_By Nes Mikel_

_Acknowledgment;_

_I herby acknowledge that the work of fiction presented here is for my own personal amusement and entertainment purposes alone. Most of the story, characters, place names and other etc stuff in this fiction are copyright Naruto, Kishimoto Masashi, Weekly Shounen Jump, and any others I might have forgot. Enjoy._

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- Chapter One -

"_**Flowers Never Bend With the Rainfall"**_

"_Well then… I'll tell you a little secret." – Mizuki

* * *

_

_**Once.**_

_**Once, for reasons yet unknown, appeared a nine-tailed demon fox. With just a simple swing of one of its mighty tail, it crumbled mountains and caused tsunamis. Disaster had been summoned into the lands.**_

_**To fight this abdominal creature of unearthly creation, the people assembled the shinobi – those who stealth in darkness – to counter this threat and put an end to its existence.**_

_**The fight did not bode well. Many lives were lost, countless others shattered. The horror failed to cease until one brave shinobi stood in front of it and successfully sealed the demon, but with the cost of his life.**_

_**That shinobi's name…**_

_**The Fourth Hokage.**_

* * *

The Village of the Hidden Leaf was, well, a village that was intended to be hidden from the public eye within a rather dense forest, but in reality it was quite easy to find. Sure, it was rather hard for a clueless foreigner that had simply wandered in its forests and to stumble upon it, but for a village that intended to be hidden, it didn't do a good job at that. Really, if they wanted to be truly be hidden as the name should imply it wasn't such a difficult task for the skilled men and women who lived behind its walls, but it just won't do.

It's reason? Simple.

Revenue.

This Village was a village of shinobi, and shinobi were mercenaries. They received clients, jobs, and orders from their own country and beyond; accomplishing tasks none others could do. If they were really hidden away, how would their clients that sought their services ever find them in the first place?

A not-so-hidden hidden village. Oh, the irony.

Pushing that rather strange train of thought aside, let us look beyond the walls and into the village itself. Once inside, a thriving community lived. They went their normal everyday lives as many people should, but since this was a village of the shinobi the people that lived here were living normal lives by their own standards. Which, of course meant, they really weren't leading exactly 'normal' lives as many others outside the hidden village would've lead. The people in the outside world sure didn't leap tall buildings in a single bound as many people in this village could.

One particular girl in this village was doing just that as she leapt towards another building, a gleam of mischief reflecting in her emerald eyes. Today she was going to do something that many would not dare – vandalism – but not just simple vandalism, but of a particular monument.

This hidden village was nestled in close proximity to a large cliff face that loomed over many buildings it housed. On the cliff face were carvings of four gigantic faces, the murals of which many would consider heroes. The girl chuckled in excitement as she tied a rope around her waist and tied the other end to a tree on top of the cliff. Tugging slightly to test its durability, she slowly climbed down the cliff face, with a bucket of paint in her right hand and a large paintbrush in her left.

_Hehehe, wait till these fools see what I done! _Her inner self giggled, as she set off to work.

* * *

"_HOKAGE-SAMA!"_

The wrinkled, elderly man flinched at that name, and as soon as he did he regretted it. Turning his attention back to the calligraphy he was working on, he sighed in defeat as his flinch had caused a big, unwanted smudge in the middle of the fine paper.

"What is it, is it her again?" the old man called the Hokage put down his brush and washed his hands off the black ink. He really didn't have to ask for confirmation, one look at the faces of the two ninjas that had busted into his room told him what had happened.

"Yes!" the one in the left shouted, his hands flailing in all directions in slight panic. It was uncharacteristic of a shinobi to do so, but it situations like these it could be excused. "That bratis desecrating the Hokage monument!"

"And this time with _paint_!" the partner to his right added.

The Hokage closed his eyes for a moment to let the news of his own monument being defaced sink in. He reached for the hat he had set aside besides him and slowly put it on top of his head. Fully clothed now in the traditional robes, the man wearing the symbol of "Fire" on his forehead stood up, inhaled some smoke from his pipe and slowly sighed. He walked towards the two before him, who were more than ready to take him to the sight of crime. Like it wasn't far away… he could clearly see the view of the monument on the roof of this house. Even before he approached the stairs that led up to his mansion's floor, he could hear the numerous shouts and protests the others were throwing at the girl in question.

_"HEY!" _he heard one shout. "Stop causing trouble!"

"Stop doing this every day!" another pitched in.

"You'll pay for this!" one declared.

"Look at all that…" stated someone in disbelief.

"Shut up you idiots!" A voice shouted above them, the accused girl grinning widely and shaking her fist in the air, tightly clenching the paintbrush that was the catalyst of the defacement. She was hanging onto the cliff face with a rope, paint covered all over her. Even a blind man could see that she was the one who did this. "None of you guys could do something this horrible! But look at me! Hehehe, I'm incredible!"

The Hokage looked up at the girl and then at the monument. Insults and obscene symbols were written all over the wall. He resisted the urge to slap his own face but instead sighed as he took one step after another until he was near the small fence that separated him from the monument. "Geez… what has that child done?" he murmured. _Even my face…_ he mentally added.

A heavy sigh was heard besides him, and the Hokage took notice of a figure that was standing besides him all along. "Third, I apologize for this." The young and scarred academy teacher apologized. "She snuck out during break."

"Ah, Iruka…" the Hokage started, but Iruka stopped him when he took a big breath in to let loose the barrage of words that followed.

_"What the HELL are you doing during class time, Sakura? GET DOWN HERE YOU MORON!"_

With those words, the girl suddenly lost her foothold over the monument, and was now helplessly dangling in front of the cliff in midair. When one listened closely, they could hear the words of complaints murmured by the pink-haired girl. "Yikes, that's Iruka-sensei…"

* * *

Haruno Sakura soon found herself back into class, but in an unique position where another will probably never have to deal with in their time at school – she was not only forced to sit down on the floor and started down by her scary sensei in front of her entire class, but her wrists were tied to her back by a rope. She ignored that and avoided the gaze of her teacher. "Bah." Was all she said.

This obviously didn't bode well with the teacher, and another scolding soon came forth. "Tomorrow is the ninja academy's graduation exam, and you have failed the last _two_ times! This is _no _time to be causing trouble, young woman!"

She continued to ignore Iruka. "Yeah, yeah."

Perhaps that was a bad move, as she swore she heard a vein pop inside her sensei's head. "All right, that's it!" he shouted in frustration. "Time for a review on 'Henge no Jutsu'. Everyone line up! Transform perfectly into me!"

_"WHAT?" _everyone in the class shouted in unison, Sakura included.

"I _mean _it!" Iruka didn't sound like he was joking. He crouched down to Sakura and untied her ropes, then shoved her lightly forward into the line that was forming to take the unexpected test undoubtedly created because of her.

One after another, students performed the seals perfectly and transformed into a good resemblances of their academy teacher. And soon…

"Ok, good." Iruka said as another one of his students completed his task. "Next, Haruno Sakura."

"Pfft, this is all your fault." A voice behind her said.

She didn't recognize the voice, but she replied to it anyway. "Like I care."

_Damn this sucks…_ the pink haired girl thought as she took a step towards her sensei and performed a number of seals. _Hmph, I know your weakness Iruka-sensei…ok, here we go!_

_"Henge!"_

With those words, a large bellow of smoke erupted. It didn't take long to clear, and when it did everyone discovered that Sakura had transformed herself into her adult form… but lacking one major thing. Her clothes. Not to mention that she was poised in a very… well, seductive pose. Just to add extra damage to her open-mouthed sensei in front of her, she winked and threw a little blow kiss. It was a killer.

Iruka fainted, blood gushing out of his nose.

Sakura released her seal and transformed back to her original self, ignoring the gawking gaze by the boys and the disgusted looks by the girls gave her. "Hehehe, you fell for it!" Sakura giggled in delight. "I call it 'Sexy no Jutsu'!"

She didn't realize that Iruka had already recovered and was staring at her with killer intent. She took a step back and attempted to smile. "It was a joke, a joke, okay?"

"You _DUMBASS!_ Don't invent stupid skills! You have detention!"

_Aw shite._ Sakura cursed silently. It wasn't as if she didn't see it coming, but she cursed anyway.

* * *

Sakura found herself in front of the Hokage monument once more, but for a different purpose. Instead of defacing the monument like she was moments ago, she was here to clean up the mess she created. She wiped off some sweat off her face as she worked. Sakura dunked the rag back into the bucket of water and took it out again as she went back to scrubbing the paint off the stone cliff. She cursed again, this time loud enough so the Iruka-sensei watching above could hear.

"I won't let you go home until you clean it all off." She heard him say.

Sakura looked up to him, and spoke with spiteful words. "Hmph, like I care. It's not like I have anyone to go home to…" she paused mid-sentence, and stared down to avoid Iruka's eyes. "Bah." She spat out the words, as she hastily returned to undo her own work.

"Hey Sakura…" she heard Iruka speak again, this time in a much gentler tone she didn't expect.

But she growled at him anyway.

"Now what?"

"Well… umm…" he scratched his cheek. She noticed it was Iruka this time that was avoiding her gaze. "If you clean this all up, I'll buy you some Dango tonight."

Sakura immediately brightened. With renewed vigor, she scrubbed the stone with her rag twice as fast as before. "Okay!" she cheerfully spoke. "I'll work hard! I will!"

_It wasn't turning out so bad after all._

* * *

The Ichiraku was a small but rather famous Ramen stand, famous for it's wide varieties of Ramen and it's rather cheap price. However, Ichiraku wasn't just known for its Ramen, but also for its sweets as well. The Dango they sold her was Sakura's favorites, and Iruka smiled at his pink-haired student besides him as she happily sipped some hot green tea before reaching out for another Dango.

He decided this was a good time to start a conversation. "Hey, Sakura."

"Hmm?" She asked in a muffled voice, her mouth still full from three Dango she consumed all at once.

"Why were you doing that to the monument?" he asked. "Don't you know who the Hokage are?"

She rolled her eyes. "Hmph, of course." She said before she reached out for another serving. "Basically, those that receive the Hokage name are the strongest ninja's in the village, right? And among them is the Fourth, a hero who saved the village from the fox demon."

Her response only served to make Iruka more confused. "Then why?"

She smiled. "Simple. One day, I'm going to get the Hokage name… and then I'm going to surpass all the previous Hokages! Oooh, won't that be so cool? A kunoichi surpassing all of them! Hell yeah!" she threw a mock punch in the air. "And then, I'll make this village recognize my strength!"

Iruka stopped eating his Ramen he ordered for himself, and stared at his student in disbelief. Before he had a chance to comment on her dream, Sakura threw him a question.

"By the way Sensei… I have a request."

"Hm? What, you've already eaten eight Dango. You want more?"

"No, no… um…" she looked away, as if she were embarrassed. She brought a finger up to her lips, and brought her shoulders closer together. "Can I borrow your Leaf head protector?" she asked in the sweetest voice possible.

Iruka laughed as he brought his hand up to his own Leaf head protector. "Hahaha, nice try, Sakura! I'm sorry but this is only after you graduate. This is a symbol that you've come of age. Maybe you'll get one tomorrow." He said cheerfully and gave his student a pat on the back.

Perhaps that wasn't the wisest course of action, as that left him relatively unguarded.

"Stingy!"

She attempted to punch his face, and Iruka managed to avoid it barely before Sakura's fist connected into the wall behind him.

"OW!" Sakura exclaimed, and began hopping about in pain.

Iruka laughed out loud again. _So that's why she removed her ribbon she always wore… she wanted to replace her ribbon with the protector._

"That's it, I'm gonna have more Dango!" Sakura declared.

"Huh?"

"You got it, lady!" the manager of the Ichiraku exclaimed in joy.

This time it was Sakura laughing, and Iruka hopping about in pain. Economically wise.

* * *

Nervous wasn't exactly what Sakura felt in class the next morning. Anticipation. Today, she was going to be a ninja, and she was so sure of it. Third time's a charm, right? She had her arms crossed in front of her, waiting for Iruka-sensei to tell the class of today's exam topic. The last two times were tests of _that_ jutsu. There was no way in hell that could be it for three times in a row…

"Now." Iruka spoke up, flipping through some papers on a clipboard he was carrying. "For the graduation exam, you will…"

_Yes, yes, come on now… don't let it be…_

"…you will do the 'Bunshin no Jutsu'."

_Crap._

"When you are called, come to the next room." Iruka finished, and left the classroom. Soon after he left the class erupted into a ball of conversation, but Sakura ignored all that and slouched down at the dilemma she was placed in.

_Dammit! _She hit the table with her fist, gently enough so no one would notice, but enough to satisfy her feelings. Somewhat. _Why that one! That's my worst jutsu!_

"Next, Haruno Sakura."

She eyes opened wide in shock, as she continued to sit in her seat dumbfounded. Then she realized why she was called so early. She hated having her last name start with the eighth letter in the alphabet.

_But no matter! _She thought to herself as she walked into the next room. She saw the rows and columns of brand new Leaf head protectors neatly lined up in front of desk Iruka-sensei sat, and a new determination rose within her.

_I'll be a ninja! _She performed the hand seals as she was taught. _Watch this!_

_"Bunshin no Justu!"_

The result wasn't… spectacular. She had created a clone, all right… but the one clone that stood besides her – no, not stood, slouched on the floor – looked like as if she was beaten up after four or five girls ganged up on it. A small sweatdrop formed on the side of Sakura's face, and she slowly turned her head towards her sensei to see what they had thought.

Iruka had the most peculiar emotion on his face.

_Not good. _She immediately concluded. Sakura tried to smile, trying to look innocent and pretend as if everything turned out all right…

"_Fail!"_

Iruka's voice was like a knife that stabbed through her heart. She was now bleeding emotions profoundly, and she slowly sank to her knees. Sakura was ready to burst into tears if need be.

"Hey, Iruka-sensi…"

Sakura looked up from where she sat, and noticed for the first time that Mizuki-sensei, another academy teacher, was sitting next to Iruka-sensei all along.

_That's right! There are always two people to supervise the test… maybe he…_

"This is her third time, and she… well, technically did create one clone. We could let her pass…"

Sakura immediately brightened, as hope rekindled within her.

But it was Iruka that snuffed it out once more. "No way Mizuki-sensei." Iruka waved his hand in dismissal. "Everyone else divided into three. But Sakura only created one clone, and it was a useless one. We can't let her pass."

Emotion progressed from hate, rage, and then sadness. Before her two sensei's could stop her, she was out of the classroom and ran out into the playing field, desperately trying not to cry. She found her favorite swing outside she loved to play with, and sat down, rocking silently back and forth, back and forth…

She didn't know how long she stayed there. But long enough until students came pouring out of the academy – no, they weren't students anymore. Ninjas. All of them were proudly displaying their newly won forehead protectors, chatting amongst themselves happily, sharing their dreams and ambitions. Soon, parents of those children soon appeared, and the happy conversation intensified. Some even reached Sakura's ears.

"Great job! That's my son!"

"Now you're a man!"

"I'm so proud of you! I'm going to make your favorite dinner!"

It was too painful for her to hear those words. She stood up from the swing, and turned to leave. She wanted to be alone now.

_No, I am alone. I always am. Always was._

Out of Sakura's earshot, two adults turned their gaze towards Sakura and started a conversation that was forbidden to most ears.

"Hey, that girl…"

"Yeah, that's _the_ girl. She's the only one that failed."

"Well, that's good. We can't have her become a shinobi. After all, she's…"

"Shush. Remember, we can't talk about that."

Sakura slowly tied her ribbon back onto her head. She had only wished for this ribbon to be replaced by the forehead protecter she desired so much… but for her, it looked as if she had to wait for another year. Another long, and painful year.

Soon, she was out of sight. And as soon as she left, a figure from the shadows emerged and walked over to Iruka who was hoarding the children. It didn't take long for him to recognize who he was.

"Hokage-sama…"

"Iruka, I need to talk to you."

"…yes."

* * *

Sakura didn't expect to be comforted by anyone, but she was. And it was from a rather unexpected source… Mizuki-sensei.

Somehow, it didn't really surprise her. For some reason he always treated her nicely, although Mizuki-sensei was teaching a different class. But whenever she had a chance to meet him or be taught by him, Mizuki always paid attention to her. She had always appreciated it, and she really appreciated the attention he gave her now.

"Iruka-sensei is a serious person." Mizuki said as he stared off into the distance. "His parents… they were killed when he was young and he's had to do everything by himself since then."

Sakura looked away. She's heard the rumors, but didn't think it was true. But it wasn't as if that changed anything. "But why… does he only pick on… me…?" She continued to stare at her feet, never bothering to look at her teacher directly. The volume of her voice was barely above a whisper.

Out of the corner of her eye, Sakura saw Mizuki smile a little. "He probably sees himself in you, Sakura." She lifted her head up, a little startled. "He's probably thinking…" Mizuki continued. "He wants you to become strong in the real way. Try to understand Iruka's feelings. After all… you don't have any parents too."

Sakura was silent. She didn't know what she wanted to say. She could understand… they were alike, so deep down Sakura knew what Iruka probably felt. Still… "But… I just wish… I had graduated…" she said, sadness clearly echoing in her voice.

"Well then… I'll tell you a little secret."

She turned her heads towards Mizuki. "Huh?"

And hope was aflame again.

* * *

Night. It was a time when shadows thrived. Darkness was the very home of the ninjas. The moon was bright today, but the dark clouds hid it from view, creating an eerie mixture of faint light and total dark. And in this atmosphere a young, beautiful, yet strong kunoichi (self-declared) was on a mission of majestic importance (also self-declared). She slowly crept forward to her target. She must not fail…

A light switch turned on. Illuminated and exposed, the female ninja froze in place.

"What are you doing in my house at this hour?" The Hokage behind her asked.

"Sexy on Jutsu!" was her reply.

Blood was split, and a leader that commanded a village was defeated that night, but in a way that was… well, unique. Satisfied with her handiwork, Haruno Sakura proceeded onwards to the scroll cellar, and after rummaging through god knows how many pieces of paper, she finally found what she was looking for. Opening a nearby window, she leaped out and disappeared into a nearby forest.

"Now let's see…" Sakura opened the scroll once she arrived at her destination "The first skill is… _What the hell?_ Why does it start with the one I'm bad at?"

Sakura was too concentrated on reading her way through her newly won scroll to notice anything around her, so she wasn't aware of a figure watching her every move the entire time. Mizuki, with a twisted smile on his face, turned around and proceeded to execute the second phase of his plan.

* * *

Lying in his bed, staring at the moon that had finally decided to show itself behind those clouds, Iruka was feeling sad. Hokage-sama had approached him this evening, and when he did he knew exactly what his leader's order of business was.

_**Iruka…**_

_**Yes, Hokage-sama?**_

_**I know how you feel, but… she is similar to you.**_

He knew. Iruka knew that from the beginning… but Sakura was…

Iruka didn't really want to think of her _that_ way. If he were, he was lowering himself to what the rest of the village thought of Sakura. He didn't want to be like that. After all, he could understand the girl's feelings, her pain.

But…

Iruka couldn't help but think, that it was a night like this when the fox…

_**Never will he forget those eyes, those claws, those teeth, those tails. The demon, the nine-tailed fox. With its unholy roars and almighty power, it was crushing everything that stood in its way. Shinobi after shinobi threw themselves against it, desperately trying to stall it until the preparations by the Fourth were complete. They were all swatted away by the demon, as if they were annoying flies that didn't need paying attention to. All it cared… was destruction.**_

_**"We have to hold on until the Fourth gets here!" A shinobi shouted, and a roar of agreement sounded through the ranks of the shinobi as they began their reckless charge. One boy tried to go with them, but a strong arm grabbed him and pulled him back.**_

_**"No, let go of me!" the young Iruka shouted. "My mom… my dad… they're still fighting!"**_

_**He felt a sharp tap on his neck before he realized he was losing consciousness. The last thing he saw before he blacked out was that murderous red eye, destroying everything he ever knew.**_

Two knocks made on the front door of his apartment suddenly brought Iruka back to reality. Two knocks… that meant something was happening in the village. Quickly grabbing a nearby shuriken holster, he slides open the front door. Mizuki greeted him.

Iruka wasted no time. "What is it?"

"We must go to Hokage-sama's place! Sakura has… Sakura has taken the scroll of the forbidden seals as a joke!"

Iruka's eyes went wide. Quickly retreating into his house, Iruka grabbing his Chuunin uniform besides his bed and the rest of his equipment from a nearby cabinet, he rushed out of his apartment and joined Mizuki to head towards the Hokage mansion.

When they arrived, complaints were openly voiced.

"She won't get away with this one! Hokage-sama!" Mizuki shouted. Many others around him agreed. Iruka, as much as he hated to be dragged into the mentality of the mob, had to go along with the flow this time.

"Yes…" the Hokage sighed as he publicly addressed his men. "Those are dangerous scrolls forbidden by the previous Hokage. If used in certain ways, it can and will cause incredible trouble."

Iruka gritted his teeth. How did this happen? How could _he_ let this happen?

"It's been half a day since the scroll was taken. We must hurry and find Sakura!"

"Yes!" the shinobi's assembled in front of their leader shouted in unison, and immediately spread out in all directions with unimaginable speed.

Only two shinobi gathered at that location guessed correctly where Sakura was. One of them was Iruka, who wisely decided to head towards the woods, as that was where Sakura liked to take a walk from time to time.

The other was Mizuki.

_I'll spread the world throughout the village a little more, and then I'll get rid of Sakura. I'll make it look like Sakura disappeared with the scroll… and then…!_

Mizuki smiled to himself, evil intentions running amok in his mind.

* * *

Carrying the scroll behind her back was rather straining. This, unlike many other scrolls, was not an ordinary one… it was HUGE! It must've weighed as much as she did! Tired from her exercise and the additional weight, Sakura finally fell back and rested against a tree to catch her breath.

It didn't take long for her to realize that a smiling man, yet at the same time shaking in anger, appear before her. "…I've found you… _hey there pretty lady._" Sakura couldn't tell with the tone of his voice if Iruka-sensei wanted to hit her or to hug her. So she decided to check.

"Oh hey, I guess I found the nose bleeder."

"_IDIOT! I found YOU!"_

_Okay, so he's angry. _she thought, amused. She grinned mischievously, her hand scratching behind her head.

"Hehe… you found me… well, I guess that's too bad. I've only learned one skill in the meantime." Sakura sighed. "I wish I could've learned a few more, but…"

"Hey."

"Yeah?"

"You're… you're all beaten up." Sakura saw that anger no long existed in Iruka's eyes. Only concern. "What were you doing?"

She looked down at herself. True, she had cuts and bruises all over her body, not to mention mud all over her beautiful pink hair. She regretted getting dirty, but in a situation such as this it really couldn't be helped. Besides, Sakura thought it was worth it. "Never mind that, Iruka-sensei. Just wait, I'm going to try an incredible skill! So if I do it, please, let me graduate!"

She held her hands together to prepare executing the seal for her new skill, but Iruka once again interrupted her. "Sakura… where did you get that scroll on your back?"

"Oh this?" Sakura looked over her shoulder briefly, and then grinned widely at Iruka. "Hehe, Mizuki-sensei told me about it! And about this training ground here too! He said that if I got this scroll and learned the first technique written on it, I'll definitely gradua…"

Sakura never had the time to finish her sentence, as Iruka suddenly pushed her away violently. Shocked at the sudden movements of her teacher, she was about to shout in protest but was soon silenced when various shuriken and kunai flew out from the shadows and struck where she was just standing moments ago. It was Iruka that took the fall instead.

"Tsk… nice job in finding her…" a foreign voice spoke. It didn't take long to find it's source, Crouched down atop a tree branch, there sat Mizuki-sensei.

_Did he… he… just try to kill me? _

Sakura turned to seek comfort from her other sensei, desperately wishing for help, but instead of getting help it looked like Iruka was the one who needed it. Pinned to the shack that stood nearby by kunai, he coughed up some blood. With several kunai stuck into him, it would've been strange if he didn't. "I see…" Iruka spat out. "So that's what's… going on…"

Mizuki ignored him and turned his gaze towards Sakura. She wanted to take a step back, but she couldn't stand up.

_"Sakura." _Her name was spoken in the most cold, dismissive way she had ever thought possible. "Give me that scroll."

"…What… what is going on?" she stammered, unable to comprehend the situation in her mind.

"Sakura!" Iruka shouted as he pulled one kunai that was embedded into his chest. A spray of his blood flew in the air and a shade of red was slowly starting to stain the cloth around his wound. "Don't give him the scroll… even if you die! That is a dangerous scroll that has forbidden ninjutsu sealed within it! Mizuki… he used you in order to get his hands on it!"

Sakura's eyes went wide in shock. Thankfully, it was only brief, and soon anger boiled within her. She slowly came to her feet, and glared at Mizuki with as much hate as she could muster. _How dare he trick me! _Her inner self screamed.

"Sakura… there's no point in you having it." Mizuki brushed his hair in front of him. She saw he had a faint smile on his face. "In fact… I'll tell you the truth."

"NO! No, don't!" Sakura didn't expect such an outburst from her Iruka-sensei. The ill-tempered yet usually calm-mannered sensei was clearly panicking. _Just what is going on? _she wondered.

"Twelve years ago…" Mizuki continued, ignoring Iruka's plea. "You know about the Demon Fox being sealed right?"

"Yeah, so what?" she wanted to spit at Mizuki's face, but realized that he was standing rather far away. But even if he wasn't, she couldn't. The caring Mizuki-sensei she came to respect was gone. It was all just a fabrication for him to get close to her so he could use her to accomplish his goals. She knew that, and her rage was boiling… but she couldn't just come and go beat him up. He was an adult, and deep down she knew that she couldn't win against this man. He _was_ a shinobi after all. She, on the other hand, was a dropout, a failure. She knew better, so she simply stayed put.

"Since that incident… a new rule was created for this village."

"…a rule?"

"But Sakura." Mizuki close his eyes, a trace of a smile clearly visible. He was… enjoying this? "This rule was never meant to be told to you."

"Not to me? What _is _this rule anyway! You're getting annoying!" She shook her fist threateningly at him.

Mizuki was laughing now. Sakura ceased her threat as she realized that he was serious. Whatever this 'rule' was… it had to do something with her.

"What… kind of rule is it?" she asked.

She never should've have asked.

* * *

Iruka watched helplessly as his former comrade, now turned traitor, spoke the forbidden words that was never meant to be heard by the pink-haired girl.

"The rule – is that no one is allowed to talk about the fact that _you_ are the demon fox itself."

Iruka saw Sakura visibly freeze in place. "Wha… what… what do you mean?" her voice was shaking. She was starting to…

"STOP IT!" Iruka shouted. It was meaningless, he knew, the damage has been done. But it was so cruel, so heartless… he couldn't just _stand _there, shut up, and let it happen.

"It means that _you_, Sakura…" Mizuki continued relentlessly. "Are the Nine Tailed Demon that killed Iruka's parents and destroyed the village twelve years ago! _You_ were sealed up by the Hokage you admire and…"

"STOP IT!" Iruka shouted another shout, in an attempt to drown out Mizuki's voice. Naturally, it didn't work. Mizuki had Sakura's full attention.

"_You _have been lied to by everyone! Didn't you find it odd that everyone hated you?"

Iruka was about to say stop once more when he realized that Sakura's expression changed. She was squeezing her eyes shut, attempting to blockade the tears that were no doubt forming behind her eyelids. A couple of drops did break through, and it fell down her cheek. She wasn't going to move, and Mizuki knew that.

"Iruka is the same!" Mizuki declared once more. He grabbed the giant shuriken he had it equipped on his back and started to spin it between his fingers. He was getting ready to throw the deadly blade. "He actually _hates you_! _Nobody_ will accept you! That scroll you have on your back – it was actually used to seal you up! Haahahaha!"

Mizuki suddenly stopped spinning the shuriken, and pulled his arm back, readying the throw. He thrust it forward, aiming at the helpless little girl to finish what he came here to do.

_"Sakura!"_

He had to move!_ NOW!_

_**

* * *

Iruka…**_

_**Yes, Hokage-sama?**_

_**I know how you feel, but… she is similar to you.**_

_**I… yes, I know.**_

_**She's never known a parent's love… and all the villagers hate her because of that incident. So to get attention… she makes a lot of trouble. She's seeking acknowledgment of her existence in any possible way. She acts tough, but she truly is suffering. Surely, you must understand.**_

…_**yes, Hokage-sama.**_

_**So try… try to be a little more honest with her.**_

* * *

The pain was horrible, but well worth it. He had lost a lot of blood from saving Sakura in the first assault, but this was a bit… well, more painful for sure. Due to the size of the weapon, the wound went much deeper than the many small kunai that were intended to finish Sakura off. But it was worth it. They were both alive still, and above all, Sakura was safe from harm. He gritted his teeth and closed his eyes to try to stop himself from screaming in pain, but it only caused more blood to flow forth from his mouth. A couple of drops loosened from his lips and it fell onto Sakura's red dress, turning it into a deeper shade of crimson.

"Why…?" he heard a soft voice that belonged to the girl beneath him ask a question. "Why did you…"

Iruka slowly opened his eyes. Beneath him laid a girl – a lonely girl. Nothing more. "I…" he began. "My parents… after they died… there was nobody to complement me or acknowledge me…" he paused, coughing up a little more blood. The wound must've been more serious than he'd originally thought. "I would always… act like a idiot, to get people's attention… since I wasn't able to do well in things like…" he smiled slightly. "…school."

Iruka closed his eyes again. "It was better than nothing. So I kept acting like an idiot. It was so…"

_So painful…_

He didn't know when he started to cry. He only realized it when the first drops left his eyes and succumbed itself to gravity. "Yeah… Sakura, you must've been in a lot of pain too… I'm sorry… if only, if only I had done a better job… you didn't have to feel this way…" He winced in pain, both physically and emotionally. Iruka ignore all those. Now, he had to heal this girl's heart…

When Iruka looked into Sakura's eyes, he saw a swirl of emotions swirling through. But then, the rage of emotions suddenly stopped as it came. She shut it out of view for a second. When she reopened them, it sent a chill down through Iruka's spine.

Her eyes… they were no longer the green emerald eyes he once knew.

They were tainted red, the gaze was ablaze with hatred yet cold as ice.

"Saku…" Iruka didn't expect Sakura to push him away, and struggled onto her feet. Before Iruka had a chance to stop her, Sakura had already run away into the deeper parts of the woods. "Sakura!"

"Hehehe, sorry…" An amused voice sounded behind him. Iruka didn't even have to turn around to recognize whom it belonged to. "But Sakura isn't the type to have a change of heart. She probably plans to use the scroll to get revenge on the village. Isn't that interesting?" Mizuki snickered. "Hell, you saw it yourself didn't you? Those eyes… now _those _were the tainted eyes of a demon."

As much as Iruka wanted to avoid feeling more pain, the hate he felt for Mizuki was enough to dull it so much that he gathered the courage to pull out the large shuriken that was embedded in his back. "Ugh!" he grunted in agony as the sharp metal left his flesh. He tossed the shuriken aside as he struggled to stand up. He was out of breath… he didn't have much strength left in him.

"Sakura… she isn't like that!" Iruka protested.

"Heh. Well that doesn't really matter. I'll kill Sakura, and get the scroll. Be thankful that I'm going to take care of you later." Leaving behind those words, Mizuki jumped to a nearby tree branch and disappeared after Sakura. Iruka wanted to follow, but the wound was too deep - he couldn't control his own body like he wanted to.

"Damn it!"

* * *

"I finally find her, and I see this…"

The Third Hokage of the Hidden Leaf wasn't known to swear, but if he could he would've. Even after imposing that strict rule – in the end it, it had failed in its purpose. It was meant to protect the girl who had been chosen to be the container of the fox, but the Hokage knew the risk involved in creating such a rule – the risk of Sakura finding out. And now his fear had become reality.

Leaning back in his chair slightly, he puffed at his pipe lightly. Using the crystal ball to detect and trace a person's movement took up a lot of chakra. In the old days he could do this no problem, but he was aging, and he was well past his prime. _Oh well, you can't go back against time… I just have to accept that._

He put his hands around the crystal ball once more and it glowed slightly in response. Slowly, colors started to swirl through the transparent rock, and eventually an image of Sakura running through the night forest came into focus.

This was going to be a major problem. Mizuki had told her the truth, and she was afraid like never before. The power that was sealed within her may be released, plus she was holding the very scroll that was used to seal the fox within her…

The chances of Sakura breaking the seal and reversing back into the nine-tails fox were a one in a million, but there was a possibility. And most of the ninjas that he had sent after Sakura were well aware of that possibility, and feared it. Some may even go as far as killing her when they found her.

But, if the seal _did_ break… then…

_Then I will be forced to kill her._

* * *

"Found her!"

Iruka jumped to another nearby tree branch as the chase through the forest continued. "Hurry, pass me the scroll!" Iruka shouted to Sakura. "Mizuki is after it!"

Sakura suddenly stopped dead in her tracks. Breathing a sigh of relief, Iruka jumped down from the tree and slowly walked over to Sakura. "There, there, Sakura." Iruka said consolingly. "It's okay to cry… OOF!"

It was a fatal mistake on Iruka's part to carelessly approach the girl. Before he could avoid the oncoming kick to him stomach 'Iruka' took the blow full-hand and was flung backwards with much force. After skidding through the ground a few meters 'Iruka' finally came to a stop.

'Sakura', now completely exhausted and 'her' entire body in pain, slowly slouched down and fell back towards the tree truck nearby to rest.

"Why… why Sakura? How did…" 'Iruka' vanished in a puff of smoke. "How did you know that I wasn't Iruka?" Mizuki questioned, anger clearly reeking from within.

"Hehehe… Simple." 'Sakura' smiled before 'she' too, vanished in a puff of smoke, replaced by a wounded man. "I'm Iruka!"

"Hmph, I see…" Mizuki slowly came to his feet, dusting his vest off. "Clever. But… heh… it's funny."

Clutching his stomach tightly in an attempt to slow down the blood flowing from his wounds, Iruka raised an eyebrow. "What's so funny?"

"You'd actually transformed into what killed your parents. What are you doing? Protecting her?"

Iruka spat out some blood onto the ground floor. He glared at Mizuki. "I won't hand over the scroll to an idiot like you."

"Pfft, you're the idiot." Mizuki waved his hand dismissively. "Sakura and I are the same."

"The same?"

"That's right!" the glimmer in Mizuki's eye changed. "If you use skills in that scroll… you can do whatever you want! There's no way that demon fox wouldn't try to use the power! Unlike what you're assuming, I presume."

Iruka lowered his eyes slightly. "Yeah…"

_Damn it… damn it… see, I knew it. I knew it all along. Even Iruka-sensei… deep down… even he doesn't acknowledge me._

Unknown to the two men who were conversing, Sakura was hidden behind the bushes not too far away, listening into every word of the conversation.

Perhaps Mizuki was right; perhaps she and he were the same. She had always wanted to do something she never dared to do; she wanted to erase those who were happy in order to ease her pain of being alone. Now that she knew what she was, she knew she was doomed to always be alone. She could never be accepted into society, always isolated, never to be loved. Then why did she exist? Why did others deserve to by happy while she was never to be? She clutched the scroll she carried tightly. Perhaps, perhaps she could use this to destroy, just like Mizuki had suggested…

"Yeah… the Demon Fox will do that… but Sakura… she's different." she heard Iruka's voice over the bushes. "She is… I've acknowledged her as… one of my excellent students."

Sakura squeezed the scroll closer to her as her ears digested Iruka's every word. He continued to speak. "She may not be the hardest worker… she's clumsy, so nobody accepts her… but she, she already knows what its like to feel pain in her heart. She isn't the demon fox anymore… she is a member of the Hidden Leaf. She's…"

A single tear escaped from her eye.

"She's Haruno Sakura." he finished

Sakura cried to herself silently, an action that she once swore that she would never repeat.

_Thank you… Iruka-sensei…_

_Thank you…_

* * *

The blood that poured out from the wound on his back was intensifying. Iruka knew that without proper medical treatment soon – heh, as if that was forthcoming – he would die from blood loss. And what he had just said to Mizuki probably pissed him off. Well, he intended the speech to be that way, but he had truly meant every word he said.

Mizuki simply shook his head and shrugged. "Okay, whatever." Carefully reaching behind his back, he unfastened the other shuriken strapped behind him.

"Iruka." Iruka looked up at Mizuki at the mention of his name. Mizuki's face was calm, almost emotionless, but he knew that he was angry. He wouldn't be surprised if he would erupt into rage anytime soon…

"I said I would take care of you later, but I'm changing my mind."

Mizuki spun the large shuriken between the fingers with such speed Iruka could feel the wind it created. "_Hurry up and DIE!"_ Just as Iruka predicted, an insane twisted look was etched all over his face.

Iruka smiled. Having accepted this fate so long ago, it wasn't that bad. _So, this is it… led kind of a pointless life didn't I? Couldn't even protect one girl. Sakura… please escape, and don't blame the village. Just blame me… and live. Live and be happy._

It all happened in slow motion. Mizuki was just about to release the quadruple-bladed weapon from his hand when a rustle was heard from the nearby bushes. A blur of pink suddenly ran straight towards Mizuki in unimaginable speed, and jumped at him, delivering a devastating knee-kick directly at Mizuki's chin that sent him flying backwards. The blow was successful in redirecting the windmill shuriken to an odd direction, causing it to miss its intended target.

_Sakura!_

Iruka heard Mizuki growl. Even after such (what seemed like) a devastating blow to the head, Mizuki still held possession of his consciousness. "You should not have done that…" the man said it with venom.

"Don't you _dare_ touch Iruka-sensei!" Sakura responded with equal poison. "I'll _kill you!_" she shrieked.

"You… you idiot!" Iruka shouted with whatever strength he had left in him. "Why did you come out? Run awa-" Iruka stopped mid-sentence before he noticed something wrong with Sakura's eyes. They were still…

"Shut up, brat! I'll kill someone like you in one shot!" Mizuki retorted, oblivious to the murderous red eyes that glared at him with hate.

Sakura slowly raised her hands in front of her to perform a particular cross-shaped seal. "Then try me. I'll return the pain a thousand times over." Sakura's voice sent a chill down Iruka's spine. Never before he had heard her voice sound so cold…

"Then do it, DEMON FOX!"

Mizuki will have to eat his words for the rest of his life.

_"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"_

* * *

The sight Iruka witnessed that night was amazing. Haruno Sakura, the girl he had once thought had no talent for clone jutsu divide into a thousand individuals before him. If fact, this was 'Kage Bunshin' we were talking about. Each wasn't an illusion, but an _actual_ body, able to perform actions as if it were a real live human being. It was a high level ninjutsu, definitely not capable for by an ordinary genin.

_She may… she just may surpass all the previous Hokages…_

The end result: Mizuki beaten to a pulp. Alive (barely), but a crucial body organ crushed - one where it would cause severe, severe pain to a man.

Most embarrassing part: By a girl.

"Hehe, do you think I went a little too far?" Sakura stuck out her tongue a little, a mischievous smile on her face. She almost felt a little guilty for the poor man. Almost.

Iruka laughed slightly. "No, I think he deserved it. And Sakura… come over here for a moment. There's something I want to give you. Now, close your eyes…"

* * *

"Did anyone find her?"

"No!"

"Damn it! This is bad!"

"She may be far away now!"

"Shit, that'll give her time to…"

Chaos would be the word that would best describe the situation that was happening in front of the Hokage mansion. The assembled chuunin and jounin in front of him were arguing amongst themselves as to what to do with the Haruno girl. Some argued to leave her be, some vowed to hunt her down, some suggested to try another day. But this had to end. The Third Hokage was getting tired of it. He stepped forward, and coughed loudly. Immediately his subordinates went quiet.

"There's nothing to worry about." He reassured his men.

"Hokage-sama…"

Puffing on his pipe happily, he smiled. "She'll be back soon."

* * *

"Sensei, can I open them now?" Sakura asked Iruka, getting rather excited. She felt him arrange her hair some. Perhaps it was a new ribbon? Or was he getting rid of the mud that had become attached when she was training for her new (and now her favorite) jutsu?

"Okay," she heard him reply. "You can open your eyes now."

Blinking her eyes open and readjusting it to the morning light, the first thing she saw was Iruka's smiling, cheerful face. But her eyes immediately focused into a single part on her sensei's face – his forehead. Iruka's Leaf head protector had disappeared from his forehead. And in his hand he clutched the ribbon Sakura had always worn proudly on her head.

_Did he…? _Her hands immediately reached for her head where her ribbon would normally be. Her hands felt metal, with some sort of engraving on it. She traced the engraving, and soon came to realize that it was the symbol of the Leaf.

Iruka had given her a Leaf head protector. _His _Leaf head protector.

"Congratulations… on graduating."

Tears were flowing down her face again. This time not out of sorrow, nor anger.

_No… I'm crying because…_

_Because I'm happy…_

"Let's celebrate!" Iruka declared. "Come, I'll buy you a round of Dango-"

Iruka was suddenly assaulted friendly by a wave of pink hair. He smiled, and accepted his student's embrace.

For Haruno Sakura, this was the happiest day of her life.

* * *

_**I planned to lecture Sakura that the hard part of being a shinobi had just begun.**_

_**But well, I saved that until we got to Ichiraku..**_

_**- Umino Iruka**_

-

_**Tainted Demon Eyes**_

_**- Chapter One -**_

"**_Flowers Never Bend With the Rainfall"_**

_**-END-**_

**_

* * *

Author's Notes:_**

My, my, that turned out to be a long chapter… really, didn't expect a chapter with only… what, a fifty-three or so pages in manga to turn out into a story that's (although altered, as many of you have seen) nineteen pages long in word…? Oh well, I guess it did. (chuckle)

Anyway, for those who had the patience to read through this long, long chapter, I salute you. Really. Ah, and many thanks for taking your time to read through it. It was fun making this chapter.

Reviews, comments, criticism, always welcome. As many of you (probably) know, those are the things that keep an author going. I'm not exactly pleading for reviews or anything (chuckle) but yeah, something close to it.

Anyhow, here are some translations of Japanese words that I have used in this chapter for those who don't understand them.

If I missed anything in that list below, I apologize. Also, if there are any typo's/grammatical errors in the chapter, I also apologize. It is nearly 9000 words long after all.

Well, that's it I guess. Until the next chapter!

_- Nes Mikel_

_(Chapter Format Revised, 01/15/06)_

_**

* * *

Japanese Word Translations in Chapter One (in order of appearance):**_

**_tsunami _**– tidal waves

**_shinobi _**– literal translation is "those who stealth". Another word for ninjas.

**_hokage _**– literal translation is "shadow of fire". Title given to the leaders of the Hidden Leaf.

**_sama _**– could mean "lord" or "master". Either work.

**_ninja _**– a member of a class of 14th-century Japanese mercenary agents who were trained in the martial arts and hired for covert operations such as assassination and sabotage. This is in real life, by the way. The ninja's in this fic is not based off real life, but based off the ninja's in "Naruto"

**_sensei _**– teacher

**_henge no jutsu _**– transformation (metamorphosis) technique. Transforms your appearance into something or someone of your choice.

**_henge _**– could mean "transformation" or "metamorphosis". Most go with "transformation".

**_sexy no jutsu _**– sexy (seduction) technique. Sexy and Naked lady appears in front of you. A one shot KO technique to most men.

**_dango _**– a traditional Japanese sweet/snack. Packed full of stuff called 'anko', which I'm not exactly sure what it's made out of.

**_ichiraku _**– a ramen stand in "Naruto". Literal translation is "easy one". I think. Could be wrong.

**_ramen _**– Chinese noodles in flavored soup, usually accompanied with slices of meat and vegetables.

**_kunoichi _**– female ninjas. Literal translation is "nine is one." If one combines the three kanji's (one of the three types of the Japanese alphabet) that make up the word kunoichi, it becomes another kanji that means "woman".

**_jutsu _**– technique

**_bunshin no jutsu _**– replication (clone) technique. Creates clones. They're illusions, however, so the clones can't perform any physical action. Disappears when hit. Great distraction technique.

**_shuriken _**– a small, star -shaped, quadruple-bladed throwing weapon used by ninjas. However, shuriken's shape and size can vary widely. The example I gave in this explanation is just the most common form of shrunken.

**_chuunin _**– intermediate-class ninjas on the ninja hierarchy.

**_kunai _**– small, metallic daggers used by ninjas. Mostly used as throwing weapons, but unlike shuriken it could also be used as melee weapons.

**_ninjutsu _**– literal translation is "ninja technique". In "Naruto", these are the techniques used by ninjas that require the use of chakra that does physical damage.

**_chakra _**– one of the seven centers of spiritual energy in the human body according to yoga philosophy. This is in real life, by the way. In "Naruto" they are the necessary spiritual energy you need to perform ninjutsu, genjutsu (illusion techniques), certain forms of taijutsu (physical combat techniques), and blood-limit techniques (inheritance techniques).

**_kage bunshin no jutsu _**– literal translation is "shadow replication (clone) technique". Much like Bunshin no Jutsu, they create clones. However, in this jutsu, the clones you create aren't illusions, but are real physical bodies. Disappears when hit.

**_genin _**– novice-class ninjas on the ninja hierarchy.

**_jounin_** – expert-class ninjas on the ninja hierarchy


	2. El Condor Pasa

"**_Tainted Demon Eyes"_**

_By Nes Mikel_

_Acknowledgment;_

_I herby acknowledge that the work of fiction presented here is for my own personal amusement and entertainment purposes alone. Most of the story, characters, place names and other etc stuff in this fiction are copyright Naruto, Kishimoto Masashi, Weekly Shounen Jump, and any others I might have forgot. Enjoy._

_**

* * *

**_

- Chapter Two -

"_**El Condor Pasa"**_

_"Old man, fight me!" – Konohamaru

* * *

_

Okay, so a correction. Haruno Sakura's happiest day of her life wasn't the moment when she had received the Leaf forehead protector from Iruka-sensei (which was the day before), but rather, it was going to be tomorrow.

When she was _officially_ to become a ninja of the Hidden Leaf.

At least, that's what she felt like when she woke up. Things went quickly downhill from there.

It was really controversial as to whether Sakura would really enjoy the forthcoming day – there were a couple of annoying procedures she had to go through. Scrolling her eyes down on the official-looking form she received yesterday from Iruka-sensei after their trip to the Ichiraku (she _knew_ he was going to lecture her sooner or later about the fine points of being a shinobi), she read through what she needed and what was to be done in order to properly become a ninja.

First: To take a photo of yourself and attach it to the official document citing your profile.

Taking a photo.

That meant interacting between people.

Sakura didn't hate _hate_ people. Rather, she only despised a few, but those few were the only ones that mattered. The cold, icy glares they had given her over the ages had naturally taken its effect as felt her resentment towards the village grow day by day. She tried to ignore that and acted cheerful and bratty as much as she could in front of everyone in order to put her mind at ease – she noticed her alter ego surfaced a lot when she did – but whenever she came home for the day, the cold truth always stared in her face: There was nothing for her in her house, no one to greet her, nothing to take comfort into. Before she or everyone else knew about it, she realized that she was slowly isolating herself. Her outrageous pranks and acts of mischief were becoming fewer and more far in-between. The village didn't take notice of this. Even if they did, they must've felt relief instead. And now that Sakura knew the truth about herself, she could guess what they were thinking:

_Oh, the fox seemed to have calmed down a bit. Good grief._

Iruka was the person that saved her from the darkness. She owed him her life for that. If it weren't for Iruka, she would've probably run away for good to god knows where, until she would either die from simple starvation or turn her sadness into bitter hatred for all life. She was okay for now, now that she finally had a place to fall back into, but the truth still hurt. A lot.

Before the revelation, she didn't understand the reason why she was feeling so isolated and alone. But now that she did, her perspective on people changed almost immediately. She could now understand the reason why she was being treated the way she was, and it frightened her. She had mentally beaten herself up on what she was and what she had done to attract attention to herself. Her acts of mischief had only made her look even worse in a village that had a hostile attitude towards her. She didn't hate the village for hating her. In fact, she hated herself.

Sakura sometimes cursed herself for thinking too much. It only served her to make her more depressed than she already was, and today was not meant to be like that. In fact, she was happy – her dream had become a reality.

The trip to the photo shop didn't turn out to be bad than she had originally thought. She _was_ thinking too much, after all. She was a small celebrity; almost everyone in the village knew who she was – whether it was because of the pranks or the nine-tails, she didn't know – but they didn't seem to hate her. They understood why she had acted out like she did sometimes, and a few felt sorry for her and gave her teasing and encouraging words. It really didn't look like they hated her.

Not all of them anyway.

Arriving at her destination, she immediately heard a bored voice when she slid open the store door. "Bah, it's you… don't cause trouble for us, okay?"

"Oh come on, you're still angry for messing around with your archives?" Sakura replied as cheerfully as she can, trying to conceal her gloom.

He didn't seem to take notice. "Don't try to pull that innocent look on me. So, whatcha here for today?"

Sakura smiled. She pointed her finger to the top of her head. She tilted her head forward a bit to offer him a better view. "See this?"

The middle-aged storekeeper narrowed his eyes. "No way… you actually did it?"

"Yup!"

"Crud… was the bet still on?"

"Want me to show you the documents to prove it?" There really weren't such documents, but the storeowner knew where she was getting at.

"Fine, fine, you win… I guess I owe you that much. How troublesome. Go to the room in the back, Sakura. I'll get the machine ready. Just don't knock over anything."

"Thank you, Nara-san." She waved at the annoyed man appreciatively before she hurried past the store counter back into the room. These were the people who had acknowledged her (even if it had to be done in the form of pranks), and it was what kept her going. She wasn't going to play pranks to the photo store owned by the Nara clan today. She was going to be a ninja soon, and she vowed to do better from now on.

Or at least she tried to anyway. In her hurry her arms brushed against a small wooden table, and something fell onto the floor in a loud _crash_.

"SAKURA!"

_Dammit._

At least she tried.

_

* * *

Haruno Sakura _

_Ninja Registry Number 102607_

_Born October 10th, age 12_

_Genin of the Hidden Leaf Village_

_Profile: Hobbies – Reading, eating Dango._

The Third Hokage of the Hidden Leaf looked up from what must've been the thousandth document today, but this document held some particular importance. This simple piece of paper could be viewed as important as one's life, depending on how serious the person was with their job. It seemed to be in perfect order – save the rather short profile – but he noticed something rather interesting in the self-portrait photo pasted on the top-left hand corner of the document.

Looking rather miserable, the picture featured a frustrated looking Sakura with a huge bump on her on head. Putting the document back on the table, he looked at the kunoichi that was sitting on a chair not too far away. Sakura, looking down at her fists on her lap, was grumbling something about taking revenge on a particular lazy family man or something along those lines.

"Hm… interesting choice for a picture, I might say."

Sakura shrugged her shoulders. "Yeah well, I really didn't have any choice. Nara-san said that that'll be the only picture he'll take that I didn't have to pay for. Dammit, this wasn't in the bet."

He knew about the bet. The Hokage smiled to himself briefly before he spoke. "You sure you don't want to retake it?" he asked, leaning slightly forward. "This Ninja Registry lists all those in the village who are capable, so it should be an important document for you too. You don't exactly look like your best if you decide to go with this."

Looking bored, she tipped her chair slightly backwards. "Don't have much choice. Kind of broke at the moment anyway."

"Dango again, Sakura?"

Her gaze finally rested on him. Her eyes were slightly wide. "…How did you know?"

"I get complaints from Iruka all the time that you're making _him_ broke from making him buy you all those sweets." The Hokage gave a heartily laugh. Sakura blushed at his outburst, eyes shying away.

It didn't go unnoticed. "Sakura, what's wrong? You don't seem to be your usual self today."

"Hmm? What do you mean?"

"Knowing your personality, you would normally be coming back at me by now." _Physically and/or verbally. _the Hokage mentally added.

Sakura's eyes were focused to the ceiling as if that were the most interesting thing in the entire world. "Just tired." she replied softly.

The Hokage looked at her strangely for a second, but dismissed the thought aside. He nodded towards Sakura. "Okay, you can go. Be sure to be at the orientation tomorrow."

Within a moment's notice, all that was left behind in the room was an empty chair. A pang of guilt sounded in Hokage's wise heart.

_Was it… perhaps, too much for her? _He thought briefly as he sorted through his documents. Too busy with his thoughts and papers, he didn't notice another presence in the room until it revealed himself with a shout.

"Old man, fight me!"

If it weren't for the fact that his grandson tripped before he managed to throw the shuriken at him, the Hokage of the Hidden Leaf could have been dethroned by a mere six-year old.

* * *

Sakura didn't lie back in the room. She did feel tired, but not in the usual way. What she felt was a lack of enthusiasm, and a severe one at that. Soon, she would be assigned to her new duties, and be working full-time as a ninja of the Hidden Leaf. It was what she had strived for and worked hard over the years. 

Now that she was here, she wasn't sure what she was going to do.

The Hokage she wanted to become was a goal to work forward to. She was quite determined at that, but that was when she was naïve. Now that she stood here in the plains of reality, she realized the folly in her ambitions. It was just a faraway dream, only obtainable by the truly gifted and the elite. She didn't believe that before; she had thought hard work would eventually pay off and prevail.

However, things were different now than before.

She knew the truth.

_There is no way a demon like me could be the Hokage._ Sakura thought.

Sighing inwardly, she decided now was a good time to take a walk in the woods. Even Iruka couldn't solve her problems now. It was all up to her. Sakura only hoped a solution was forthcoming, or at least some sort of distraction to take her mind off the disturbing thoughts.

* * *

"Listen, you are the grandson of the Third Hokage." 

His tutor was going on with his philosophic ramblings again.

"I, your elite tutor, Ebisu, know best."

If such things were possible, Konohamaru wanted to take down both his tutor and his grandfather down at the same time in a ninja fight right now, but the boy knew that the only thing that will happen as a result was further humiliation. He wasn't going to fight now, not in the open like this anyway. Ninja employed stealth, and struck when his opponent least expected.

"You want to become the Fifth Hokage, right?"

Yes, Konohamaru wanted to be the Fifth Hokage. And he almost accomplished that too, if it weren't for the trap (although there was nothing, he still insisted) set in place that caused him to lose balance and fall. That girl the elderly man was interviewing just earlier – although he had no idea why – had distracted his grandfather enough to grant him a chance. Wait a second… where did he see her before?

"If you learn ninjutsu from me, becoming Hokage will be simple."

_If it were so simple I would've been Hokage by now, stupid tutor. _Konohamaru inwardly growled. Ignoring his teacher, his thoughts went back to the pink-haired girl. He was positive that he knew her from somewhere before. He just couldn't place it. The details were fuzzy, the information traveling slowly. He had a feeling she was somehow involved in the intruder incident just yesterday…

"Yes, learning from me is your best shortcut to becoming Hokage."

Then, as if a door was busted open before him, he suddenly remembered. _That's right! She was the girl that defeated Grandpa and stole some scroll from him!_ He suddenly felt envious. She couldn't be more that six years older than him, and above all she was a girl! Yet… she was capable of defeating his Grandfather, while he, despite (what must've been) his twentieth attempt today, could not? To hell with listening into lectures, he was out of here. He must know the secret behind his Grandfather's defeat…

"Do you understand, young master?"

It took Ebisu a full thirty seconds to realize that his star-pupil was no longer in front of him.

* * *

Spotting a familiar figure atop the Hokage Mansion, Iruka changed his trajectory and landed silently behind his leader. It wasn't as if being silent wasn't going to change anything – the best ninja in the Leaf Village already knew that he was behind him. 

"Hello, Iruka."

"Sorry, did I distract you?" the Academy teacher immediately apologized.

The Hokage shook his head sideways. "No, I was just smoking my pipe, enjoying the view. Care to join me?"

"I don't smoke, but gladly."

Iruka didn't look exactly at his best at the moment. Considering the damages he suffered from the hands of Mizuki he should've been in the hospital, but medical-nins in this Hidden Village could daily perform what could almost be considered miracles. He wasn't bleeding anymore from any of the wounds, and could move almost as efficiently as before, but the scars left behind still hurt considerably. The constant tug the bandages wrapped around all over him was annoying, but it would have to do until he completely healed. He was released from hospital, but was under strict orders from the medics to rest as much as he could for a week.

Yet, he came here.

Iruka followed the Hokage's gaze and looked at the Hokage monument. His eyes traveled from left to right, as the faces of the First, the Second, then the Third came into view. Iruka reverted back his gaze to the leader besides him for a moment.

_Compared to the monument, he sure has aged…_

"What was it that you wanted, Iruka?" the Hokage interrupted Iruka's thoughts.

He asked the question that has been nagging in his mind. "Did Sakura show up for the Ninja Registration?"

The answer was simple and quick. "Yes."

He immediately felt a weight lifted off from the shoulders. "Ah, that was a relief… she wasn't at her house, so I was worried." He emitted a small embarrassed laugh. "I lectured her at the Ichiraku yesterday, and all she could talk about was how 'cool' it'll be for a girl to become a great ninja, take the title of Hokage and then have the village acknowledge her strength…"

Iruka saw his leader's eyebrow rise. "She said that?"

He felt himself grow tense. "Yes, she did. Why, is there something wrong?"

A cold breeze passed through them. Iruka didn't like where the atmosphere of this conversation was heading. Something was definitely on his leader's mind that didn't bode well. Iruka couldn't help but think that Sakura was somehow involved in the mess of things.

He wasn't wrong. "Sakura's dream… may be impossible."

Iruka didn't know what to say. It wasn't long until he realized where his leader was getting at. In silence, he let the Hokage continue. "As you know… the only people that know that Sakura is the demon fox were the adults that fought it twelve years ago. I had made it a rule to never mention that fact, and I have severely punished those who have broken that rule."

"What does that have to do with Sakura's dream?" He had to ask, just in case he was proven wrong.

"The children of this generation don't know that truth. Hence, that is the only thing that Sakura has going for her… but…" the Hokage took a puff on his smoking pipe when he suddenly changed the topic. "Iruka, when the Fourth died performing the seal, do you know what his dying wish was?"

He wasn't aware of such a thing. "No."

"The Fourth sealed the nine-tails into the forehead of a new born baby girl, hoping to lock it away inside the innocent mind. Since then, Sakura had then become…" he paused slightly. "A container. A container of the nine-tails for the sake of this village."

He continued. "Unfortunately, most, if not all of the adults in this village don't see Sakura that way. They don't see her as an unfortunate girl who had lost her parents during the war, carrying a slightly bothersome commodity – no, they see her as the nine-tails demon itself. Not only that, but because of their attitude towards her, it's been passed down to the unknowing children as well." the Hokage paused slightly before adding another sentence. "It is truly, a pity."

Iruka was given a moment to ponder this. What the elder man said was true. Given the factoids of horrors that demon had spread forth twelve years ago, it's mere mention of its name still drove fear into many. Yet what if they were told that the demon was still alive, but instead living inside a person who lived in your own village? Just what will one think?

_That person is the demon itself._

Resentment, hatred, and fear of the demon had grown in the village, and had slowly invaded into the clueless young's minds. It was almost a miracle that the truth remained hidden from Sakura and all the other children – until Mizuki had broken the forbidden boundaries – but it was just evidence that the fear of the nine-tails still lingered within everyone's mind.

What freighted everyone the most was the fear of the demon actually taking over Sakura's body – the fear further reinforced by the fact it was sealed inside her forehead, where it was close to her mind – and eventually fully transform itself back into its original form. Many thought it not likely, but there were a few that did think it was possible. They weren't wrong, as there was always the one in a million chance of the seal breaking, but their confidence in the Fourth was just as strong as the fear of the demon itself. So Sakura was rather, let's say, lucky in the fact that she never had any assassinations attempts on her life. Until yesterday.

Everyone _knew_ that Sakura herself wasn't the demon. But the possibility was still there, as minimal as it could be. Everyone was weary of that, and therefore…

"Iruka, did you know?"

"What?"

"When a person hates and doesn't acknowledge another's existence… the eyes that they use when looking at them…"

The Hokage slowly turned to face Iruka with sad eyes.

"They are frighteningly cold…"

* * *

Sakura was usually not the one to surprise herself, but after aimlessly wandering around the dense woods, she eventually came to a small clearing where the memories still stung her heart. The first place she and her beloved Iruka-sensei had almost been killed. 

Her mind went blank as her eyes took in the scenery. It hadn't changed – she didn't expect it otherwise, it only happened just yesterday after all. The dirt above the ground was slightly disturbed, testimony of the life and death struggle that had taken place recently. She found a few kunai in the small shack erected in the otherwise empty clearing, weapons courtesy of Mizuki.

Mizuki – oh how she hated that bastard.

Sakura didn't know what fate had store in for the traitor. When she and Iruka left here last night they had left a badly bruised, pulp-faced ninja who had cried himself into unconsciousness. She would've preferred to personally throw him in one of those horrible underground dungeons she remembered reading, but given the physical condition of her and her sensei it was hard to even drag themselves out of the woods. They had filed in a simple report to a nearby sentry and had gone to rest for the night. Sakura guessed that the ANBU squad had taken care of the evil man, and wished cruel punishment upon him. Sakura giggled to herself slightly when she remembered what she did to him… he wasn't going to have any children, that's for sure.

Her cheerful thoughts slowly came to a stop and depression sunk in once again. Choosing to poise herself in front of the trunk of a nearby tree, she sat there to rest. Her eyes darted back and forth across the clearing, recalling in vivid detail of the proceedings last night.

It hurt… so much…

A sudden rustling sound from the bushes dragged Sakura out of her daydreaming. Someone was here! Startled, she jumped up, and immediately reached for a kunai in her holster she always carried – but much to her dismay it wasn't there.

_Shit, how could I forget…! _Her inner-self cursed loudly at her. "Who's there?"

The sudden panic she felt left her as fast as it arrived. "Hehe, impressive to see though my hiding spot… you aren't bad." she heard the intruder chuckle lightly as he slowly revealed himself.

"You…" Sakura recognized the boy. If her memories were correct, it was the Third's grandson. The coup he had attempted daily on his grandfather was well known throughout the village, its rumors reaching the secluded Sakura's ears as well.

And above all, he was the Third's grandson. Everyone knew who he was. Or, to put it in a more precise way, everyone knew who the Third was.

Pausing slightly to catch his own breath, the boy opened the conversation. "Finally, found you!" he pointed his finger at her.

Arms crossed in front of her, she took a rather cautions step towards the boy. He _was_ known for playing pranks too, although not as serious as the ones she herself had done in the past. One could never be too careful. "You were looking for me? What do you want? Did someone send you for me?" she quickly added the last part. Iruka-sensei could be looking for her again.

Konohamaru shook his head sideways vigorously. "No, no, I came here by myself."

His presence was annoying her already. She was tapping her feet on the ground, irritated. "What do you want?" _I wanted to be alone, and this kid had to drag me out of my sorrows… why can't I be left alone now that I want to?_

"Well…" twirling his two thumbs together, he avoided Sakura's demanding gaze. "I'm not sure how to ask… you are a girl after all."

His sexist comment had immediately pissed off Sakura's inner-self, as it suddenly surfaced. "_What did you say? _What, just because I'm a girl, does that make you superior than me? UGH! I _hate_ male chauvinists like you!"

"What's a chauvinist?"

Sakura blinked once, taken aback by the unexpected comment. That's right. Sakura was dealing with a six-year old here, she didn't expect him to know complex vocabulary.

That didn't stop her from being angry, however.

"It means that you shouldn't try to piss this gender off." She cracked her knuckles, making sure the boy could hear the noise. "You want to try me?"

* * *

When Konohamaru had first spotted her, she looked so weak. She was mumbling to herself, looking around the clearing as if something tragic had happened here. If it weren't for the fact that _this_ weak girl actually defeated his old man, he would've left her to her thoughts long ago. Even so, he was about to leave when she caught him. 

He didn't expect that same girl to be bearing down in front of him with an almost visible aura of killer intent.

_Scary…_

The 'call a girl a girl' trick was something he enjoyed doing for some time. He didn't know why it was effective, but it was a major put-down for most members of the opposite gender. It usually put the bratty ones down and quieted them immediately. Moegi especially was a vulnerabletarget at this, and he would've said more means things about her if his best friend Udon didn't interfere.

In any case, Konohamaru didn't expect for someone to be pissed off so much just because he called her a girl. Above all, he never expected for a _girl_ to be so scary. He could've sworn that her eyes had briefly turned red, and it was glittering with malice. He took a step back.

"S-sorry…"

"Sorry ain't gonna cut it kid." Sakura – that was her name – slowly approached him as she grabbed the collar of his shirt. He realized that he was being lifted off from the ground; his feet were no longer touching the dirt floor.

"Hah! You think you can punch me?" _That's right, she's just a girl, she can't hurt me – she's just pretending! _His confidence was boosted again when he reminded himself of his opinion. His jabbering didn't seem to work however, and she was slowly raising her fist in the air, preparing for a punch.

It left him no choice. He smiled weakly, as he tried once more."Go ahead, punch me! I'm the Third Hokage's grandson!"

It worked. He noticed the pink-haired girl flinch a little, and lowered her eyes. She was clearly hesitating now.

Konohamaru really didn't want to resort to mentioning his grandfather's name to get him out of situations like the one he was in. It made feel like he was a mere… a mere _shadow_ of his grandfather. He hated himself for feeling that way, but he couldn't help but think it was true. The mere mention of his grandfather's name was proof enough.

_Now that she knows who I am, she can't do it. Pfft… she's just the same as my tutor and everyone else._

Much to his surprise, he felt a fist connect, and Konohamaru felt a sharp jab of pain on his head.

"You think I _give _a damn?"

_No way… she actually… punched me!_

Konohamaru slowly fell onto the dirt as his mind when slightly black.

* * *

Sakura thought that she might've went too far by knocking him unconsciousness, but this brat just _deserved_ to be punched. She didn't care if even if he were the grandson of some evil overlord that controlled the entire known world, she would've punched him regardless. 

Another reason was because of the excuse he gave – and as far as excuses go the one he gave was pathetic. He was relying on not his strength, but someone else's to get him out of his troubled dilemma. He was just, simply put, a spoiled kid. Not only that, but Sakura was still angry for the elder Nara man to punch _her _in the head, and this was a little form of sweet revenge. Even if she had to take it out on someone who was completely uninvolved, she tasted the satisfaction.

In a way, however, Sakura envied Konohamaru. Even if he had to resort in bringing out his grandfather's name, the mention of him having a family had brought forth some hesitation in Sakura. That, however, resulted in fueling her anger further so she proceeded to punch him anyway.

Laying him carefully on a nearby log, Sakura jogged quickly to the nearby shack to investigate its contents. Much to her delight she found what she was looking for – two cans of drinks. Pressing the cold container light into the cheek of the young boy, he instantly woke up from the chill. "H-Huh? What?"

"Ah, you awake already?" she said annoyingly as she tossed him one of the drinks. "Here. Drink." Konohamaru was staring at her. She turned her back towards him, unable to tolerate his presence. "Just get out of here, and leave me alone."

"NO!" Yelling his denial was something she didn't expect out of him. "I… well, I'm sorry for the way I said it. You're really strong!"

"Huh?" she slowly turned around again, her depressing mood quickly dissipating. "Me?"

"Yeah, I didn't know girls could be really strong! Er… don't take it the wrong way," he quickly added as Sakura gave him another death glare. "It's my fault for judging you by appearance."

_At least that's an improvement._ "So what do you want then?" it was curiosity that had prompted her to ask the question.

The boy immediately brightened. "I want you to teach me the jutsu that defeated Grandpa!"

Sakura remembered what she had done to get her hands on the forbidden scroll, and a slight blush appeared in her cheeks. "You want me… to teach you the Sexy no Jutsu?"

"Whatever that is, yes!" he shouted. He sounded determined.

Sakura slowly shook her head sideways. "No."

"Why not?" he wined.

"It's… rather embarrassing." Her blush deepened. The Sexy no Jutsu was, now that Sakura thought about it, was a rather embarrassing Jutsu… no one wanted to be naked in front of strangers, and she was no exception. She could only afford to do that jutsu only because she had transformed herself into her (rather ideal-centered) adult form, and that much she could do because she wasn't an adult yet. However, that alone took a lot of courage, and didn't really want any leering men slobbering at her naked body – so she avoided being completely naked by placing some rather well placed smoke in front of the body parts that needed to be concealed. She had performed that jutsu in public only because it was an effective way of gathering attention to her. Even if it were the wrong forms of attention, that is.

Of course, it was going to be rather hard explaining all that to the bratty kid in front of her. "Come ON! I don't care!" Konohamaru insisted. "Just teach me so I can defeat grandpa!"

His show of determination had piqued her curiosity. Walking over to the fallen log he was standing by, she sat down next to Konohamaru. Flinging her hair over her shoulders, she turned to him and asked. "Why are you so insistent in going after your grandfather?"

She noticed that the boy's mood had turned somber. His determined face crumbled, and was replaced with a shy face. It took a while for him to respond. "I… it was grandpa that named me Konohamaru. I was named after the village, in hopes that I grow well as the village had."

Sipping her drink a little, Sakura nodded as she urged him to continue. "So? Isn't that a good thing?"

"No…" he said bitterly. "Even though everyone is familiar with that name… nobody ever calls me that. When everyone sees me or calls me, all they see is Hokage's grandson. Nobody sees me as me. I'm sick of that."

_Nobody sees me as me… _Sakura repeated the boy's words in her thoughts. His words had reminded her of what she was. Deep in her heart Sakura wanted to believe that she wasn't the demon fox, but the village had unfortunately thought otherwise – thus, the cold looks. The only glimmer of hope left within her was to believe that she only contained the nine-tails within, but was otherwise a perfectly normal teenage girl. It was something she was clinging onto desperately now, the only thing that kept her from falling completely into the painful darkness.

_I am not the reincarnation of the nine tails demon fox… _She decided right then.

_I am Haruno Sakura!_

"That is why…" Konohamaru continued, unaware of the new determination that rose within the female companion besides him. "That is why I want the Hokage name now."

His mention of the goal of becoming Hokage had touched a sensitive corner in Sakura's mind. She sneered as she replied to his words. "Hmph, idiot. Who will acknowledge a brat like you?"

Konohamaru stared at Sakura, looking confused. "Huh?

Sakura leaned back slightly, finishing her drink. "The title of the Hokage… it's not that easy to get. Especially to a punk like you."

She heard him growl in anger. "What did you say? Take it back!" He stood, his fists in ready position, preparing himself for a fight if need be.

Ignoring his threat, Sakura didn't move from her seating position. "Hell, if you want the name that much, then…"

"Then what?"

"Then you have to beat me to it!" Sakura declared, grinning widely as Konohamaru reacted the way she'd expected him to.

_I am not the reincarnation of the nine tails demon fox… _

_I am Haruno Sakura! The future Hokage of the Hidden Leaf!_

_HELL YEAH!_

Her inner-self was having the time of her life.

* * *

Looking through the glass sphere that saw through all, the Hokage silently reminded himself from refraining to observe personal events from afar too much. It was fast becoming a favorite hobby of his, watching over people like this. To be frank, it wasn't the best hobby. He was, after all, intruding into other people's personal lives, seeing things never meant for the other's eyes. Why, if he were to overextend its use, he could find many creative ways to… 

He shook his head. It was uncharacteristic of him to think that way. Such thoughts should never come to intrude his mind in the first place. The Third Hokage had to use all of his willpower to resist the urge of turning the crystal's view of sight to the not-too-far away bathhouse, and instead focused it on a single young woman. He let himself mutter a sigh of relief once he was assured that Sakura's determination had been sown anew once again. He didn't expect his own grandson to be the catalyst in this joyous occasion, but for that he was proud of it.

Haruno Sakura was herself once more.

It didn't take long until Konohamaru's tutor Ebisu eventually found the pair just when Sakura had finished teaching Konohamaru the jutsu that defeated the Hokage before. Konohamaru had vowed his first victim to be Ebisu himself, as he performed that jutsu in front of him. The result was disappointing as his tutor's reaction was… well, just shock. But not the harsh nose bleeding which was the effect Konohamaru was undoubtedly expecting.

Outraged by the vulgar skill his pupil had just performed, Ebisu tried to drag him out of the clearing so he could 'fix' him, and isolate him from the bad 'influence' he had been hanging around with. This touched a nerve in Sakura, as she quickly performed the seal written in the forbidden scrolls: the seal for the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu.

Ebisu didn't look too concerned. After all, he was an elite teacher, the best of the best. He had taught many hopeful Hokage candidates in the past, and thus his skills as a ninja was held in high regard. He confidently walked in the middle of the clearing as many Sakura's started to surround him. The tutor crouched down slightly, prepared for anything.

He wasn't however, prepared for what came next. The many Sakura's suddenly performed the Henge, as the many Sakura's transformed into…

Many beautiful, sexy, and naked women.

Dubbed the Harem no Jutsu, Ebisu was KO'ed instantly.

The Hokage shook his head in disbelief. _Maybe looking at the bathhouse would've been better._ He thought as he calmly wiped the small trickle of blood coming out of his nose.

* * *

"Dammit… dammit… I couldn't even defeat my tutor! Yet you…" Konohamaru stared at the heavily nose-bleeding Ebisu on the ground before he turned his envious eyes to the one responsible for crippling him. "Why is it so hard? I really want a name that people will acknowledge! Yet why…" 

Sakura gave him a light slap on his cheek. "It's not so easy, dimwit." she said as Konohamaru rubbed the sour spot on his face. She kneeled in front of him, her right hand on his head, crumpling his hair. She enjoyed teasing him that way. Teasing someone – it was the only way that took her thoughts of the memories that had intruded her mind as she began her speech.

"What you want is the title of the Hokage, the greatest ninja in the village."

_**It means that you, Sakura, are the Nine Tailed Demon!**_

"With so many bad things…"

_**You were sealed up by the Hokage you admire and…**_

"I found myself lost."

_**Didn't you find it odd that everyone hated you?**_

"I finally found someone that would accept me, but…"

_**Congratulations… on graduating.**_

"Just that alone, was incredibly difficult."

Sakura smiled when she observed Konohamaru's reaction to her words. It was evident that he was thinking hard about it, and she decided to give him a small word of encouragement. "Hey, you know, you better prepare yourself." she began.

Distracted from his thoughts, Konohamaru looked at her, confused. "Prepare?"

"If you want an incredible name like the Hokage that everyone will acknowledge… there isn't going to be any shortcuts, even for me or you!"

Raising his eyebrows, then quickly turning his back against her, Konohamaru grumbled in protest. "Bah! Stop lecturing me as if you're important. I'm not letting you be my boss anymore! From now on…" Konohamaru turned his head towards her slightly, one eye visible. "We're rivals. And I don't care if you're a girl!" he declared. "You're still my rival."

This time, being called a girl didn't piss Sakura off. Instead, she smiled as sweetly as she could and gave him a pat on his shoulder.

"I'll be looking forward to it… Konohamaru."

Without an ounce of hesitation this time around, Sakura could confidently say that she was indeed looking forward to the next day now.

Tomorrow, the path to her dream will begin.

* * *

_**The Way to the True Ninja is still far away… but know this.**_

_**Dreams are never impossible.**_

_**- The Third Hokage**_

-

_**Tainted Demon Eyes**_

_**- Chapter Two -**_

"**_El Condor Pasa"_**

_**-END-**_

**_

* * *

Author's Notes: _**

Ack, hasty ending… I went brain-dead. So sorry…

Mmm… mixed reactions from the first chapter, mostly negative. Oh well (shrug), I guess that was to be expected. For those who actually had the patience to read through this second chapter after reading the first, you have my thanks! I sincerely hope that my effort in introducing gradual change was more evident in this chapter, instead of being a straightforward narrative rip-off that was voiced by many of you in the first. Change is going to be _slow_, but it will come. Hope this chapter proves that, and eventually shape up into a good fic in the coming chapters. At least, that's what I hope to accomplish.

Reviews, comments, criticism, always welcome. Keep them coming! I really didn't expect so many for the first (although I guess it's because I'm leaving myself open to criticism because of what I have done. Oh well ), and well… what can I say otherwise? Many thanks!

Well, that's it for now. Until the next chapter!

_- Nes Mikel_

_(Chapter Format Revised, 01/15/06)_

_**

* * *

Japanese Word Translations in Chapter Two (in order of appearance): **_

**_sensei _**– teacher

**_ninja _**– a member of a class of 14th-century Japanese mercenary agents who were trained in the martial arts and hired for covert operations such as assassination and sabotage. Note that the ninja's in this fic is not based off real life, but based off the ninja's in "Naruto"

**_ichiraku _**– a ramen stand in "Naruto". Literal translation is "easy one". I think. Could be wrong.

**_shinobi _**– literal translation is "those who stealth". Another word for ninjas.

**_san _**– the closest translation will have to be "Mister". Attached after a name, it is a way of calling people who are older than you or out of respect.

**_genin _**– novice-class ninjas on the ninja hierarchy.

**_dango _**– a traditional Japanese sweet/snack. Packed full of stuff called 'anko', which I'm not exactly sure what it's made out of.

**_hokage _**– literal translation is "shadow of fire". Title given to the leaders of the Hidden Leaf.

**_kunoichi _**– female ninjas. Literal translation is "nine is one." If one combines the three kanji's (one of the three types of the Japanese alphabet) that make up the word kunoichi, it becomes another kanji that means "woman".

**_shuriken _**– its shape and size can vary widely, but it is usually a small, star -shaped, quadruple-bladed throwing weapon used by ninjas.

**_ninjutsu _**– literal translation is "ninja technique". In "Naruto", these are the techniques used by ninjas that require the use of chakra that does physical damage.

**_medical-nin_** – ninjas trained in the way of medicine and health. Think of them as battlefield doctors.

**_kunai _**– small, metallic daggers used by ninjas. Can be used as both melee and throwing weapons.

**_anbu_** – literal translation: "dark squad". In "Naruto" these are elite ninja squads that accomplish the most dangerous missions such as assassinations.

**_jutsu _**– technique

**_sexy no jutsu _**– sexy (seduction) technique. Sexy and Naked lady appears in front of you. A one shot KO technique to most men.

**_kage bunshin no jutsu _**– literal translation is "shadow replication (clone) technique". Create clones, which are actually real physical bodies. Disappears when hit.

**_henge _**– could mean "transformation" or "metamorphosis". Most go with "transformation".

**_harem no jutsu_** – harem technique. Lots of Sexy and Naked ladies surround you as far as the eye could see. If the Sexy no Jutsu doesn't work, usually this one will.

_**

* * *

Review Replies (aka – the Cleanup/Explanations/Excuses corner): **_

**_dark _**– Thanks, will do.

**_EfrainMan_** – I hope for both my sake and yours this chapter proves that it's going to be a different story. I'm really trying my best to break from the original plotline, and it's slowly come to focus. But I just couldn't mess up the good intro.

**_Licht Sieger _**– About the personality; if you read carefully she's a little bit shyer, although the change incorporated was so minimal I guess it's easy to miss. As for Sakura turning out into a depressive loner… well, she can be, as this chapter shows.

**_Tsuragi _**– Thank you. Yes, I know the similarities between her and the blond-haired hyperactive kid. I will do my best to break that as the story progresses. No, Naruto won't have parents. No, Sasuke won't be cold as he is (gasp!). No, Naruto won't know Kage Bunshin… it is a skill written on a forbidden scroll after all (which makes me curious as to why so many people know the skill). But he won't be like Sakura in the original, I can tell you that.

**_Miko-chan_** – AU fics tend to lack originality, especially in the beginning where the change slowly takes place as it breaks off from the original fic. The plan I had was to keep the beginnings similar but slowly develop into something else entirely so it becomes much more believable. As for Sakura's parents' issue: in the manga, Sakura only makes reference to them, and in the anime we only hear her mother off-screen. Henceforth, I am going to assume she has no father, and her mother died at childbirth for the sake of avoiding complex family issues. (I'm a terrible author ) Also, just because Naruto will have no parents in this fic doesn't mean he'll turn out to be a troublemaker. Look at Sasuke. You'll see what I mean soon.

**_WS.Blue_** – Different characters might react to different situations; you're absolutely right. However, given that fact that I gave Sakura a complete identical past and upbringing as Naruto in this fic, it shouldn't be that surprising they grew up the same way even if she is a girl. Also, I think that Sakura isn't that much different than Naruto personality wise – if you compare Sakura's inner-self personality, that is. In this fic Sakura's inner-self personality is more strongly represented than in the manga/anime. Hope that satisfies your fic-reading curiosity.

**_Jingle Bells _**– As for the pairings, I'm still trying to work that out. It shall be… interesting.

**_Grand Admiral Gin _**– Soon, you shall. Soon.

**_GenocideHeart _**– Hm, not to butt in or anything but are you sure the "Hokage" means "Shadow King"? I mean, "Ho" is an alternate pronunciation of "Fire" and "Kage" is "Shadow", therefore the "Hokage" is the "Shadow of Fire". This makes sense when you consider the other Kage's names; Kazekage, Tsuchikage, Mizukage, and Raikage, which translate to "Shadow of Wind", "Shadow of Earth", "Shadow of Water", and "Shadow of Thunder". If "Hokage" does indeed mean "Shadow King" then what will the other Kage's translate to? As to your suggestion of reassigning teams, I considered it, but for the story's sake Naruto _has_ to be in Sakura's team, so the only logical choice for the last member will be Sasuke. I will, however, toy with the idea of rearranging other people's teams… as for Haku and Zabuza, I have no idea at this point.

**_Kokoro Kakera HP _**– Much thanks.

**_Busogre_** – The latter (yes, this story will go in a different direction). No, Naruto isn't gone. And yes, in this story Naruto _is_ the son of the Fourth Hokage, and he knows about it. I understand how there are many die-hard fans of Naruto out there, so I will not try to disappoint. Just keep in mind that Sakura is the main character here… but Naruto will play an important role.

**_KevinEC _**– I guess I did deserve the harsh comment, but I accept it with thanks. True, I should've altered more things here and there to make the story much more, well, unique so it is more original (I'm guilty of that in a couple of other fics I've written). However, I believe that the coming change in development will redeem myself from that mistake. It is the only thing I can do to undo similarities, now that the first chapter has been posted and the damage done.

**_(blank) _**– Parings are undecided. Not a major factor in this fic anyway – some people center their stories too much on pairings, so… yeah.

**_RuByMoOn17 _**– Hahah, I guess you can say that.

**_Darak _**– Here's the second chapter. Enjoy.

**_Xetirox _**– Thanks for the comment on my writing skills. Hopefully this chapter proves that I do have some originality left in me. I promise, this is only the beginning, and the developments will be forthcoming. It's just that I have a lot of material I have to go through before the AU becomes really apparent.

**_Iibaru _**– Naruto does indeed exist in this fic. As to why Sakura was chosen as a container for the nine-tails fox, explanations are coming in the latter chapters. Don't expect everything to be explained all in one go. I _have_ kept her character as much as I could, as it is much more apparent in this chapter, but given the fact that I have given Sakura the exact same past as Naruto it shouldn't be that surprising there are many similarities. Hope this chapter makes it more exciting for you.


	3. Me and Julio Down By the Schoolyard

"**_Tainted Demon Eyes"_**

_By Nes Mikel_

_Acknowledgment;_

_I herby acknowledge that the work of fiction presented here is for my own personal amusement and entertainment purposes alone. Most of the story, characters, place names and other etc stuff in this fiction are copyright Naruto, Kishimoto Masashi, Weekly Shounen Jump, and any others I might have forgot. Enjoy._

_**

* * *

**_

- Chapter Three -

"_**Me and Julio Down By the Schoolyard"**_

_"Next, Team Seven…" – Iruka

* * *

_

Every time she opened her eyes, the girl always wondered when it was she had fallen asleep. It was an intriguing question, its answer never apparent. Unlike the moment you know that you're waking up, drifting into sleep was a much gradual process – hence, it was never clear. Even when she had felt dreadfully tired, she never had gone to sleep pronto. So when did she? It was a stupid question, she knew, and answering it wouldn't amount to nothing, but it was a question she wished to know the answer to one day.

Rubbing her eyes with the palm of her hand to ease the deep fatigue usually associated with morning sickness, the pink-hair girl flipped the bed sheets off her bed as she climbed out. She almost considered going back to bed again, given her inebriated mood. Her inner desires told her that it wasn't such a bad idea, the mattress she had spent the past eight hours in quiet hibernation was comfortable and it was a piece of furniture she had grown to like. Employing her will power that was slowly coming online, she fought the temptation of sleep and haphazardly strolled over to the nearby kitchen sink. Twisting the faucet open, she summoned forth the streaming water and let it run for a while until the muck that had collected over from yesterday was flushed out. Then, pooling some of the clear liquid in her two hands, she splashed the cool water on her face. She felt the desired effect thereupon.

_Aaah, much better._

It was a daily routine Sakura employed since god knows when. For as long as she could remember she was the only person who had lived in the Haruno clan household – if you can call it a clan, that is. As far as she could tell, she was the only survivor of the now extinct clan.

Sakura was by no means stupid. She had once tried to find out her origin, hanging onto the hope that perhaps she wasn't alone after all. Sakura knew her house once housed a clan, as her rather large residence was adorned everywhere with the simple round circle that she came to realize as the symbol of the Harunos. It was a dead giveaway.

So, it was only natural to think that perhaps a relative of hers still lived somewhere in the lands. She had rummaged through her entire house then, turning every piece of furniture upside-down to find any clues that had to do with her heritage. It didn't take long until she finally found what she was looking for: the scroll that listed her clan's entire family tree. It was definitely authentic – she was overjoyed to find her name on the bottom of the long list. The only thing she found odd, however, was the two blank spaces on top of her name where the names of her parents should've been written down. It wasn't there. Just… blank.

It was as if they never existed.

She had felt sad then, but the other members of the clan that were written down as clear as words engraved in stone had comforted her instead. She scanned the long list: Haruno Kiku, Haruno Satsuki, Haruno Ayame, Haruno Hasu, Haruno Yuri … she didn't practically find it surprising that all members born into the clan were named after flowers. What _did_ surprise her was that every single member born into the clan was female. All of the male members of the clan were outsiders with no apparent relation with them, only invited into the lineage because they were the husbands of the many women within in the clan. It gave Sakura some pride in being a woman of the Haruno.

She could remember clearly the day she visited the local ninja registry office the next day. Proudly presenting them the scroll of her family lineage, she requested the few ANBU workers in charge there to look up all of the names written on the scroll to check up on their current status. The men agreed, and they disappeared into the darks of their offices to grant her wish, taking the scroll with them. She had sat patiently in front of the doors of the building, not wanting to miss the good news she was sure to hear from them.

It didn't turn out like she had hoped.

_**

* * *

A faint cough sounded behind her. "Sakura-san… was it? We have some results." **_

_**Ten-year old Sakura spun around, a hint of immaturity still in her sea-green eyes as she fired off her next few sentences like a machinegun. "Aaah! Hayate-san! Yes, yes, I'm here!" she jumped up from her sitting position and had her fists clenched in front of her in anticipation. "Well, what did you find? How many are still alive? Where are the others now? Do some of them still live in this village? Tell me tell me tell me!"**_

_**The noticeably weak man in front of her coughed weakly once more, making her worry a little. **_

_**"Are you okay?" Sakura asked.**_

_**"Ah… yes. Well," the ANBU man known as Gekkou Hayate reached inside his jacket to take out a scroll. Carefully, he placed the wrapped document back into the small girl's hands. "I believe this is yours."**_

_**"Oh, yeah, thank you!" she eagerly thanked the man, but quickly changed the subject to what she deemed was going to be the most important even in her ten-year life. "So. So! What did you find? Did you find many? They're still here in this village right? Oh man, I have a family! Not just a family, my own clan! Hell yeah! They must be just shy to visit me… yeah, of course, that's it!**_

_**Hayate lowered his gloomy, sick eyes down a little. "Sakura-san, I am sorry."**_

_**His voice wouldn't have reached her eyes if he didn't sound so compassionate. "Huh?" her cheerfulness slowly ebbed. "Why are you sorry?**_

_**"Your family…" Another cough. "Eh, pardon me, your clan."**_

_**She didn't notice she was growing tense, as a wave of bad vibes swept over her. It was clear to Sakura that Hayate was hesitating about something "What… what about my clan? **_

_**"Sakura-san, everyone but you in your clan is already dead."**_

* * *

Sakura stopped brushing her teeth midway. Her squeezed her eyes shut for a moment, erecting a dam in her mind to stop the flow of thoughts. Why was she thinking of such trivial things now? That revelation didn't change anything, she reminded herself. She was still alone. So she was the tragic survivor of a clan that had been wiped out years ago, and apparently because she was the youngest she had survived – although she had no idea if that theory held true. Dismissing the thought aside, she spat out the toothpaste and washed her mouth clean with a fresh glass of water. Returning back to her living room, she wrestled with the clothes she wore for a moment before throwing them inside a basket made out of bamboo nearby. 

Walking over to her closet that kept her entire wardrobe, she slowly pulled open and marveled at the wide variety of clothing before her. The Harunos, being a clan (or at least, what she assumed) that revolved around its female members, the huge walk-in closet in the house (it was bigger than her living room!) was packed full with feminine clothing with such diversify. Despite the wide selection of clothes, however, Sakura walked over to a rather dark corner within the walk-in closet and pulled out a single red uniform from the rack.

It was her usual uniform.

She didn't dislike the other choices presented before her. Some of them were outlandish and just simply too wild for her taste, but many others she liked. So what had prompted this pink-haired girl to pick this uniform?

Well, for one, it was her favorite uniform, and she thought it fit her style. Her short, neatly groomed pink-hair didn't get in the way of displaying her Haruno Clan symbol sown proudly on the back, her two shoulders, and the one that hung loosely down from the front. She also liked the uniqueness of the slightly crooked L-shaped zipper in front of her dress, and the short sleeves that made moving around far easier. But those were all minor reasons. There was a much more important reason as to why this uniform was her favorite.

The discovery came when she was rummaging through her house two years ago to search for signs of her heritage. The walk-in closet was one of the first places she looked, and she was pleased to discover that most of the clothes in the large closet had their respective owner's names sown upon it. Now that Sakura thought about it, it made sense as to why the Haruno women did that. She chuckled as she imagined members of her clan fighting over who owned which piece of what clothing. Upon closer inspection, Sakura came to realize that arrangement of clothes inside the walk-in closet seemed rather… well, territorial. Even traps weren't uncommon.

Henceforth, it had perked ten-year old Sakura's curiosity when she discovered a set of clothing without any names sown upon it in the far left-hand corner of the closet. She first dismissed that strange discovery – the clothes were bland and out of style. But when Sakura discovered that every single other piece of clothing had names on them _except_ those, and upon the revelation that her parents' name wasn't written down in the scroll of the clan's family tree, the conclusion was automatic.

_This uniform… was my mother's._

Climbing into the said garment quickly and effortlessly, she then proudly tied her Leaf forehead protector around her hair. Allowing herself a glance at a mirror on a nearby wall, she liked what she saw. Her gaze shifted to the right a little to the calendar than hung nearby, silently reminding herself of today's date. Quickly dashing out of her closet and back into the kitchen, she grabbed a piece of bagel in the fridge before running out of her house.

_I'm a ninja – starting today! Hell yeah!_

She couldn't help but feel that someone was smiling over her as she ran to the Ninja Academy for her orientation.

* * *

Elsewhere, a certain blond haired boy exited his apartment to begin a day that had already begun for many others. Upon hearing the soft click that notified him that his home was now safely locked, the young soon-to-be man slowly walked away from his abode and into the bright light the sun overhead provided for all. He brought one of his hands up to shield himself from the light, narrowing his eyes for a moment as he let it adjust. When that was done, he calmly took his first few steps towards his destination for today. 

Normally, a person would be overjoyed that the day had turned out to be such a magnificent day like today. There wasn't but a cloud in the air, just bright blue sky stretching across the horizon. Many took it as a sign for good things to come, but unlike the many this boy's mood remained static – as always. He was the type to never be in a cheerful mood; but instead he felt his self-inflicted responsibilities weigh heavily on his shoulders more than ever.

Today was going to be an important day for him. Boring probably, but a day that held certain significance to this striving young man. One hand in his pocket, he used the other to tug on his bright orange jumpsuit to ease an itch. It was a jumpsuit that he used to train so hard in over the years.

He didn't find anything around him out of place. People hurried past him, going about their usual businesses in their everyday lives. A few took notice of him, and paused briefly to bow their heads to him out of respect. He wasn't that heartless to not accept their acknowledgement, and he titled his head forward slightly in return every time. Yet the emptiness in his heart was still there, as he knew they were only paying his respects to his now long since deceased father.

His father. The blond boy stared ahead, his vision's focus donated entirely upon the large monument that loomed over the entire village, and settled upon a certain engraved face. The face of Kazama Arashi, the Fourth Hokage of the Hidden Leaf, the hero that saved his people twelve years ago.

His father.

_Hmph._

Grumbling to himself, Uzumaki Naruto kicked a small stone in trivial frustration.

* * *

A knock on the door. A quiet but firm voice from behind. "Otouto, are you awake?" 

"Yeah, yeah, I'll be down there in a moment!" onyx eyes darted back and forth across his neatly organized (thanks to his ever so persistent mother) room, trying to find the forehead protector he had earned just days ago. He was already dressed for the day, but was lacking just one item. Dammit, just where did he put that thing? He couldn't remember…

"If you are looking for your forehead protector, I have it in my possession."

The door of his room literally flew open. The hinges would've hit his older brother in his face if he hadn't wisely stepped back to avoid the blow. "Well, why didn't you say so sooner aniki!" the youngest member in the household said, snatching the said item away from his older brother. Quickly trying the headband with the village symbol engraved upon around his forehead, he hastily combed his hair before checking his appearance in the mirror in his room. "There we go. Much better."

A sigh. "Whom are you going after this time?"

The younger brother shrugged as he followed his older brother down the stairs of their home. "No one in particular… just someone."

"A certain Yamanaka girl has been waiting in front of our house for about ten minutes."

"What? Oh shit…" he let his own hand slap his forehead. "That's right… I promised with her…"

"You shouldn't make promises that you can't keep." he saw his older brother smile a faint smile.

Another shrug. "Well, I really don't care much for her… she just was the loudest one of the bunch, and only went out with her so she'll be quiet… I guess she took it more seriously than I thought. And… hey!" he pointed an accusing finger at his older brother. "You shouldn't say what you just said, aniki! You've made more girls cry than I have."

"At least I held true to my word."

"Geez, I don't understand you. You have better looks than me, you're stronger than me, you have more ladies swoon over you, yet you don't take advantage of that!"

"My training takes priority."

He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. Anyway, I'll be late, and I don't want Ino crying in front of me – that'll make me look bad. I have an image to keep you know."

"So you say."

"Stop with those sarcastic remarks, I'm seriously getting tired of them." He said as he started to put his shoes on. His took a quick peek over his brother's shoulder. "Where's mother and father anyhow?"

"They are-"

"At work." He finished his sentence for his elder brother. "Figures. They don't even care that I'm going to be a ninja today."

"Otouto, I'm sure they-"

Uchiha Itachi never had the time to throw those comforting words to his younger brother. Sasuke was already out of the door, his mind calculating rapidly with what excuses he could come up with to sooth the girl that had waited fifteen minutes for him.

_Ah, that's it, a bright smile. That always worked._

It worked immediately, turning the frustrated girl from the florist shop into something much more workable.

_**

* * *

Not too long ago, a conversation of certain importance took place in a small isolated room within the Hokage residence. **_

_**"Hokage-sama… are you sure about this?"**_

_**"Iruka, the decision is final."**_

_**"But…"**_

_**"Do I have to repeat myself?"**_

_**"The other arrangements I have no quarrel with. However, the configuration of this team could prove rather… disastrous."**_

_**"Even if I had placed them in different teams, it wouldn't have mattered. They will have found out sooner or later. This way, the damage will be minimal when they do find out. It is for the best."**_

_**"Still…"**_

_**"Umino Iruka, I will say this the last time. The decision is final."**_

_**"I… yes, of course."**_

* * *

"Hmm, why the heck are you here?" 

Sakura looked behind from where she sat in the classroom to see a bored looking boy standing besides her. "Oh, it's you." she said flatly before returning her attention to the book she was just reading.

"No, really, why are you here?" the boy known as Nara Shikamaru asked as she heard him scratch his head. "This orientation is only for those who passed."

She put her book down as grinned widely at the boy. "Why, didn't your old man tell you?"

"You expect my old man to tell me anything?"

_He has a point. _Her grin widened even more as she titled her head forward slightly and pointed at her own forehead protector. "Can't you see this?"

Sakura was a little disappointed when he didn't look as surprised as his father. "Oh, so you passed. Congratulations."

She didn't miss the dismissive tone when he offered his complements. "What, you sound as if you're annoyed that I passed. Is that it?" Sakura glared at him menacingly.

"Naw…" Shikamaru replied, the bored tone still in his voice. "You're smart, you do well in your written tests and all, and your stamina is pretty good. The only shortcoming you have is that you just suck at executing jutsus. But given your other qualities, it's not that surprising that you eventually managed to find a way to pass. It's simple observation."

Sakura was speechless. Everything he had said had hit dead-on, and she didn't know if she wanted to yell at him or thank him for it. She decided to do the latter. "Uh, thanks, I guess."

Shikamaru shrugged as he sat down besides her. "Whatever."

To put it nicely, Shikamaru was the closest thing Sakura had to a friend. He was the only one who had put up with her attitude, but mainly because he was too lazy to even care. At first she only thought that he was incredibly patient with people, but as things turned out it went beyond that – he was just lazy as hell at _everything_. However, as she spoke with him more and more Sakura realized that he was actually quite smart, and she found herself enjoying conversations she shared with him, however annoying and unresponsive he could be at times. Sakura got along with him very well, and would've really considered being friends with him if he wasn't so damn bored with everything.

The one reason he had probably put up with Sakura was because Shikamaru's list of friends was rather short. Akimichi Chouji was one, Sakura knew, but the chubby boy was too busy right now consuming quantities and quantities of food and Shikamaru knew better than to interrupt him then. And as for his other 'friend'…

"Hellooo everybody!"

Speak of the devil. Two people had walked into the classroom together right then, the girl shouting loudly in glee and the boy a step behind her following the girl quietly. They were Yamanaka Ino and Uchiha Sasuke – two people Sakura detested.

It was Ino who shouted to the entire class. Raising one of her hands high in the air, she made it plainly obvious to all that she and Sasuke were holding hands together right now. It had the desired effect she wanted – many of the girls in the classroom glared at Ino in jealously.

"Yo." Sasuke raised his free hand, addressing everyone as Ino had done (probably at the ladies, Sakura assumed). He did rather look miserable and embarrassed holding Ino's hand like that, yet he had still managed to look cool at the same time, successfully drawing a few embarrassed blushes.

_UGH!_ Inner Sakura screamed, and her Outer self wanted to do the same. It was painfully obvious that Sasuke was no ladies man – the list of girls he had were long and impressive, and Ino was his latest prize. For Ino, Sasuke was a trophy. It seemed like every girl except Sakura had a crush on that Sasuke boy, and whoever had ended up with him was a target of extreme jealously. It was as if there seemed to be an underground tournament in which every other girl except her attended and whoever came out top was grated the extreme honor of being "the girl that dated Sasuke". To top it off, Sasuke seemed to enjoy all that, and had dated many girls and broken just as many hearts. Yet his popularity never seemed to ebb.

Sakura however, wasn't like that. She knew what Sasuke was like, and therefore she didn't understand what the obsession about Sasuke was. So he was rather strong, he was good looking (that much Sakura had to admit), he was a child of that genius Uchiha clan… but so what? He was a _womanizer! _Inner Sakura would've vomited all over the floor in disgust.

She was so engrossed in her thoughts that she didn't realize that the Ino girl had crept up to her. "Oh, there you are, Shikamaru." Ino leaned her head towards him slightly "What are you doing, chatting up big forehead girl for a date?"

"Why would I-" he started to retort.

"I know, I know, you're getting desperate after seeing me date such a handsome guy! Isn't that right Sasuke-kun?" she flashed a brilliant smile to the male companion besides her. He nodded briefly, and Ino's ego was inflated even further. "See!"

"I don't see why that should matter." Shikamaru said, his eyes trying to avoid Ino's. She didn't let him get off that easily.

"Yeah, yeah, try as you may, you can't help but admit that I'm better! Hohohoho!" her vixen-like laugher echoed in the room. "But honestly, I never thought you would sink so low as to ask big forehead girl-"

_Oh that does it._ Sakura stood up from her chair and glared threateningly at the offending wench. "Shut up, Ino-pig."

The other girl raised an eyebrow at this. "Oh ho, so the big forehead girl has some resolve left in her. I'm surprised. But I still don't know what you see in her, Shikamaru. So she's rather smart, but she sucks at everything else, not to mention the shape of her body is so ugly. Her breasts and butt are below average… heck, the other thing that's above average is her forehead."

"Ino, that's quite enough…" Shikamaru said annoyingly.

"Oh but I'm not done." Ino taunted.

"I _said _SHUT UP." It was rather safe to say that Sakura was beyond ill tempered now. She was downright furious! How dare she say those things to her! Who did she think she was? A princess? "You have no right to-"

"I'm dating Sasuke-kun. That makes me better than you."

A nerve must've burst somewhere within her system. She felt blood rushing to her cheeks, making them flush red in anger. "DOES NOT!"

"DOES TOO!" Ino yelled back.

"DOES NOT!"

"DOES TOO!"

"DOES NOT!"

"You two, that's quite enough-" That was Shikamaru.

_"SHUT UP!" _shouted Sakura and Ino at the same time, for once agreeing in something.

True to his nature of not involving himself in troublesome events, Shikamaru gave up, letting the two girls fight each other out. The verbal match soon evolved into something more physical, as scratches and punches and kicks were mixed within the battle of two remarkably stubborn women. Their fight had drawn in a crowd, and Sakura noticed they were starting to root for whoever came out best. She barely heard them as she continued to tug at Ino's long blonde hair as painfully as she could.

"Aaargh, stop that!" Ino said as she threw a punch at Sakura's stomach. The fist connected, and Sakura let go of Ino's hair in recoil. Screeching in rage, Sakura attempted her own punch at the Yamanaka girl's face with all her might, but didn't count on Ino sidestepping her latest offensive. Unable to stop her momentum Sakura tripped on the small gradation on the classroom floor and bumped into someone by accident. The person she unfortunately bumped into as a result was Sasuke, who happened to be standing behind Ino all along. But it wasn't just a simple 'bump into'. Haruno Sakura had not only her arms wrapped around him in a tight embrace in attempt to halt her fall, but she found her lips on top of his.

Haruno Sakura found herself kissing Uchiha Sasuke. On. His. _Lips!_

A deathly still silence quickly washed over the room, everyone too shocked at what had just happened. Even that loud Ino-pig was quiet now, no doubt traumatized as much as Sakura was. In a flash, Sakura quickly pulled away from Sasuke as she desperately tried to wipe off whatever vermin that had attached itself to her skin, especially her mouth. She felt as if it was growing rotten.

It was Sasuke that spoke first. "Why Sakura-san, what a bold way to confess your love to m-"

_"ARRRRRRRGGGGHHH!" _came the pink-haired girl's reaction of pure distaste. She unhesitatingly gave the presumptuous skirt chaser the hardest slap he'd ever experienced in his entire twelve year old life.

* * *

Naruto couldn't be more bothered even if they were actually doing it on purpose, and from what he'd seen so far he wondered if they were actually really doing it on purpose. Causing a commotion was one thing, but when the results of the fight had turned out like _that_, he couldn't help but laugh at them even if he didn't show it. In his opinion the fault was Sasuke's for making such a lewd comment like that, and couldn't blame that Sakura girl for smacking him senseless as she did. Given the circumstances, he himself would've knocked Sasuke senseless if Sakura hadn't. Well, not in public anyway. Perhaps some other time when no one was around… 

Immobile from his chair, Naruto slowly shook his head sideways, a slight smirk of amusement depicted on his lips.

* * *

Iruka scanned the small crowd in front of him. Twenty-seven students. A lot more graduates that he had originally come to expect. Well, 'graduates' weren't exactly the word for these young ninja hopefuls… he just wished that they wouldn't crack under the pressure when they would eventually learn that the 'final exam' was far from over. After all, it was basic knowledge that a ninja must read underneath the underneath… he hoped they would realize that before it was too late, which especially held true for one particular pink-haired student of his. 

He sounded a cough loud enough for everyone in the classroom to hear. After he was sure that he'd gotten the attention of everyone, he began his speech. "Beginning today, all of you are real ninjas. However! You all are still merely rookie Genin. The hard part has just started."

He paced back and forth in front of the chalkboard, allowing some time to digest the words he said. "Now," he started again. "You will soon be assigned duties by the village. Therefore, we're going to divide you up into three-man teams and assign each team a Jounin Sensei. You will follow that sensei's instructions as you complete your assigned duties."

A small murmur erupted in the room, no doubt surprised by this announcement. It was to be expected – it was like this for him too. "We tried to balance each team's strength, so we've decided what team gets which person. I'll now announce them! First team…

_

* * *

Pfft… three man teams? Naruto thought annoyingly. __Just more people in my way… well, if that's the case, I suppose it doesn't matter who I'll be teamed up with…_ Naruto thought annoyingly. 

Naruto wasn't the only one annoyed at this. Sakura was just as disturbed at this announcement. _Well, I guess it isn't too bad as long as I don't have to be paired with Ino or Sasuke… ESPECIALLY Sasuke! Maybe Shikamaru and Choji… they seem to be good friends, and I can probably get along with them._

Sasuke on the other hand was probably the most enthusiastic of the bunch. _Hmm… three man teams eh? Good, it'll give me more opportunities to make good impression on girls, especially if I get teamed up with one. Just hope I don't get teamed up with Ino… she's starting to become boring. Perhaps that Sakura will do,_ he eyed the pink-haired kunoichi in of the corner his eye. _She isn't that bad looking, and above all, she looks like a challenge._

"Next, Team Seven…" Iruka continued as he read up the names. "Haruno Sakura."

_Ah, that's me! _Sakura leaned forward from her chair._ Wonder who it'll be! _

"Uzumaki Naruto."

_Hmm, that kid huh? _Sakura flashed a brief glace at the small kid with long blond hair that sat quietly in the far corner of the classroom. _Always the quiet one… well, I guess he won't be annoying._

_So it's her…. _Naruto didn't match Sakura's gaze, but he knew she was watching him._ Interesting_

"And, Uchiha Sasuke." Iruka finished.

Sasuke smiled to himself. _Perfect. Thanks, Iruka-sensei. _He gave his mentor a slight nod in appreciation.

Sakura felt the exact opposite._ NOOO! _Inner Sakura screamed in utter terror. _Why, of all people, him? Damn you Iruka-sensei! Damn you!_

She wasn't the only person feeling dread at that announcement, however. _My gawd! How could I be separated from Sasuke-kun! Not only that, he's teamed up with big forehead girl! Oh, that's so cruel! Poor Sasuke-kun! _Little did Ino know that she wouldn't have time to worry about (what she thought was) her one true love when she learned what her own fate was to become.

"Team Eight. Akimichi Chouji, Yamanaka Ino, and Rock Lee."

_I'm teamed up with a fatass and a fashion-sense zero thick eyebrows freak? NOOO! How could they do this to me! _Those was Ino's thoughts, of course.

_Heh, serves her right. _Shikamaru thought as he learned of his childhood friend's fate. _Hmm, but I wasn't teamed up with Chouji… oh well._

Iruka finished listing up the members of Team Nine as he moved on to the next team. "Team Ten. Hyuga Neji, Nara Shikamaru, and Hyuga Hinata."

Shikamaru immediately felt two pairs of white eyes glare at each other as he learned whom his other two teammates were. _Uh oh, this could be troublesome._

"That's it for the teams!" Iruka announced as he finished reading through the list of newly formed three-man teams. "We will be introducing your Jounin Sensei's later this afternoon. Any questions?" A hand was raised. "Yes Sakura?"

"Iruka-sensei! Why the _heck_ was I teamed up with… with…" she pointed an accusing finger at the boy that was (unfortunately for her) sitting not too far away. "With that lecher?"

"Sasuke-kun is a lecher?" Iruka asked as he scratched his head, oblivious to the events that had transpired just moments before he had first stepped into the classroom.

The accused boy simply chucked at this. "Oh, come on, Sakura-san, don't deny it. You wanted -"

"_You shut up!_" Sakura wanted to strange the Uchiha boy, but she managed to restrain herself, which was rather surprising given her personality.

"Well Sakura," Iruka started to explain. "Like I said earlier, it was to balance the teams. Your written test scores were outstanding, but you lack major skills when it comes down to taijutsu and ninjutsu. Saskue is well versed in both areas, but his test scores weren't as impressive as yours. Naruto, your other teammate, is exponential in all areas. Balance. Understand?"

"…dammit." Sakura cursed. Defeated, she slumped down in her chair, and instead contemplated on various ways to maximize the distance between her and Sasuke now that it seemed they were teamed up for good. Iruka wanted to smile at the exchange, but he didn't let it show. He was, in fact, displeased with whom Sakura was teamed up with.

_Sakura, it shouldn't be Sasuke you should be so worried about. Rather, he's the least of your problems…_ The young Academy teacher's eyes drifted to the quiet blond-haired boy in the right, Sakura's other teammate. _It is him that worries me… Thrid, I certainly hope you're sure about this…_

"Any other questions?" the room stayed silent at Iruka's question. "Alright then, dismissed!"

* * *

Later that day, Sasuke was looking all over for his new female teammate, planning to ask her out for lunch to 'loosen her up'. However, he was instead assaulted by dozens of other of girls, Ino unfortunately included, asking _him _out for lunch instead. As much as he didn't like Ino anymore, he was unable to resist this opportunity so he went with them, his mind oblivious of the well being of his other two teammates. 

Sakura hid herself from Sasuke's view atop a nearby tree-branch, watching him from afar. As she had predicted, Sasuke was just a womanizer, a person she needed to avoid contact with as much as possible. Then a thought occurred to her, and with Inner Sakura's encouragement, a couple of evil plans to ruin his "cool image" formulated in her head. Smiling mischievously, she disappeared from the branch as she hastily went to work.

The last teammate, Naruto, observed the actions of his other two teammates while hiding his presence from those two completely. He smiled slightly in amusement. These two were going to provide him a form of entertainment he couldn't enjoy anywhere else. Yet… Naruto shook his head to clear his mind. He had to remind himself time and time again never to stray too far from his goals. He had to accomplish his task, no matter the cost.

It was safe to say that Team Seven didn't start off in the best of footings.

* * *

_**I knew it was going to be bothersome from the beginning…**_

_**But honestly, I didn't expect for things to turn out like this.**_

_**- Nara Shikamaru**_

-

_**Tainted Demon Eyes**_

_**- Chapter Three -**_

"**_Me and Julio Down By the Schoolyard"_**

_**-END-**_

**_

* * *

Author's Notes: _**

Dammit, I guess I sort of rushed this chapter (again), and ended up shorter than the first two. It also ended rather abruptly, but I wanted to leave some sort of cliffhanger. Why was Iruka opposed to having Naruto in Sakura's team? Find out next chapter!

Er, ahem, before you fans kill me for making Naruto a calm, quiet character and Sasuke a womanizer (dodges countless volleys of god-knows-what, a few hitting him in the head) AAAAAH! Lemee explain! (slight pause) Ahh… well, Naruto's personality will be explained in the next chapter, but Sasuke's… honestly, if Itachi didn't kill off the entire Uchiha Clan in cold blood I believe Sasuke will actually turn out like that. Really. I mean, the child Sasuke I saw in the flashbacks seemed cocky and overconfident and all… and since he has that "dark and mysterious (?)" look that makes lots of girls fall for him, so it shouldn't be too surprising when he takes advantage of that if he wasn't so obsessed with killing his brother. Since Itachi is a good guy in this fic (barely dodges a kunai thrown at his head)… er, well, it makes it more interesting.

Anyhow! The AU should be _very_ apparent by now! We get a little glimpse into Sakura's past and her Haruno clan! I don't know if the Harunos are really all women-centered, but since I had a suspicion (due to the fact we never ever hear from her father, only her mother in the anime), I extended that thought and came up with this (and yes, Sakura has short hair, not long, because she isn't trying impress a certain anyone ). I thought it turned out okay. Hayate as the deliverer of the bad news – I think that suits him well. He sorta has that undertaker look (chuckle).

As for the altered teams, and my reasons behind them… er, well, "I felt like it" would be the best answer. How did I come up with them? Well… actually… it was… I made a lottery and picked out names by random. Well, to make this fic more AU I thought altering the teams would be a good idea.

By the way, the weird chapter subtitles I keep on coming up with – they're songs (if you haven't realized it by now), all written by a certain band. As for why I chose that band, don't ask. Thought it might be neat to have a theme… (whistles innocently)

Eep, long rant…

Reviews, comments, criticism, always welcome! Ta for now. Until the next chapter!

_- Nes Mikel_

_(Chapter Format Revised, 01/15/06)_

_**

* * *

Japanese Word Translations in Chapter Three (in order of appearance): **_

**_kiku, satsuki, ayame, hasu, yuri _**– names of flowers. I'm not sure which is what – I'm not familiar with those translations. They're just… names of some flowers in Japanese.

**_ninja _**– a member of a class of 14th-century Japanese mercenary agents who were trained in the martial arts and hired for covert operations such as assassination and sabotage. Note that the ninja's in this fic is not based off real life, but based off the ninja's in "Naruto"

**_anbu_** – literal translation: "dark squad". In "Naruto" these are elite ninja squads that accomplish the most dangerous missions such as assassinations. They sort of act like military police too.

**_san_ **_– _attached after a name, it is a way of calling people out of respect. It could mean "Mr", "Miss" or "Mrs".

**_hokage _**– literal translation is "shadow of fire". Title given to the leaders of the Hidden Leaf.

**_otouto_** – means "younger brother". Only used among siblings to call their younger brothers.

**_aniki _**– means "older brother". Used among siblings to call their older brothers.

**_sama _**– attached after a name, could mean "lord" or "master". Either work.

**_jutsu _**– technique

**_kun _**– attached after a name, basically it's used to call someone who is younger than you or about the same age. What makes it confusing is that it's used in some other situations that is rather hard to explain.

**_genin _**– novice-class ninjas on the ninja hierarchy.

**_jounin_** – expert-class ninjas on the ninja hierarchy.

**_sensei _**– teacher

**_kunoichi _**– female ninjas. Literal translation is "nine is one." If one combines the three kanji's (one of the three types of the Japanese alphabet) that make up the word kunoichi, it becomes another kanji that means "woman".

**_taijutsu _**– literal translation is "body technique." In "Naruto", these are physical combat techniques used by ninjas. Some combat taijutsus require the use of chakra, but most do not.

**_ninjutsu _**– literal translation is "ninja technique". In "Naruto", these are the techniques used by ninjas that require the use of chakra that does physical damage.

_**

* * *

Review Replies (aka – the Cleanup/Explanations/Excuses corner): **_

**_Sycorax _**– Haha, did I sound discouraged? Thanks for your concern! Well, it started off slow, but I think the change is much more apparent now that other characters have been introduced. Only I now know how the dynamic will change and develop… hehehe.

**_Zsych _**– I wouldn't know. Since we can't travel back in time, we can never say things will turn out differently if Sakura had to walk through the same past as Naruto, girl or not. I think a person's development on their personalities strongly depends on their upbringings. In this situation I gave them identical pasts, hence the similarity (that's the excuse I came up with anyway ), but there is a _slight_ change that has been implemented from the beginning which had evolved into the more original this chapter. I'm not too worried about the similarity issue as further analysis will force me to study human psychology to better understand one's mind – but this is a AU fic after all, almost anything goes (another lame excuse ). About the sexy no jutsu tidbit, an explanation to why she had developed that jutsu was there in the second chapter. I found it rather unsatisfactory myself, but it was the best I could come up with. In order to meet Konohamaru she had to defeat the Hokage when she stole the scroll, and I couldn't think up of some other jutsu to do the trick without overpowering her. As for Sakura breaking mentally, she _almost_ did in the second chapter. Do also note that we rarely see Naruto in a state of self-reflection (partially because he's an idiot, an aspect we fans come to love about him ), but Sakura on the other hand is smart, and therefore the narratives. However, I don't view Sakura as mentally weak. In fact, I say that she's stronger than Naruto in that regard – she _did_ break Ino's Shintenshin after all, and that requires a strong mind. And since in this fic her inner personality is more strongly represented, it shouldn't be too unrealistic that the outcome came out to be like this. I had given all this more thought than you might think, you know.

**_Miko-chan_** – The 'erk' problem you had with Sakura performing the sexy no jutsu I understand very well – in fact, I had the same feeling. However, I really wanted for Sakura to have a episode where she gets really depressed about being the container of the nine-tails fox and receive encouragement from someone else than Iruka, so I thought Konohamaru suited the role well. And in order for the whole Konohamaru episode to occur Sakura had to defeat the Third Hokage using some sort of technique only she could perform, and I couldn't think up of something else (that, or I was just being lazy )Ah, and as for why the Fourth picked a baby other than his own for the sacrifice, I plan to explain that in the later chapters.

**_Licht Sieger _**– Glad I got your approval. I'll work hard!

**_Grand Admiral Gin _**– Thank you for your kind words! I'm flattered.

**_GenocideHeart _**– Nothing to worry about, we all make mistakes. And hope you like the twists I've introduced in this chapter.

**_Riza _**– Yeah, I think I should've read over my work a few more times to comb through the many typo's/grammar mistakes scattered about… I'll get to that someday, but the ideas just keep on pouring fourth…

**_ccslover _**– Kakashi will appear in the next chapter. Till then, patience.

**_RuByMoOn17 _**– There you go.

**_--NC--_** – I got the idea of the Nara family being photographers because certain clans seemed to employ their own clan businesses. Yamanaka's as florists, and the Akimichi's I got the impression they own some sort of restaurant, and since Sakura had to have a photo taken, what other clan would best suited to own a photography shop? I liked what I came up with too.


	4. That Silver Haired Daddy of Mine

"**_Tainted Demon Eyes"_**

_By Nes Mikel_

_Acknowledgment;_

_I herby acknowledge that the work of fiction presented here is for my own personal amusement and entertainment purposes alone. Most of the story, characters, place names and other etc stuff in this fiction are copyright Naruto, Kishimoto Masashi, Weekly Shounen Jump, and any others I might have forgot. Enjoy._

_**

* * *

**_

- Chapter Four -

"**_That Silver Haired Daddy of Mine"_**

"_I believe you are the only one fit for the job." – Third

* * *

_

The message was quick, and brief.

"_The Hokage wishes for you to be present at his office at 1100 hours."_

Tossing the small piece of paper into a nearby trash-bin, he closed his mailbox and stubbornly retreated back into his apartment. As he scanned over the other pieces of mail he received one by one, he also quickly checked the clock that hung forth from a nearby wall with his free eye. He muttered an almost-sigh briefly in annoyance. He was two hours late already.

_Geez…_

Not that he was worried about it, of course, because try as he may he couldn't come up with a good excuse for being late. Even if he _did_ come up with something, and even if the excuse was actually true (which rarely happened), in most cases people wouldn't believe him. His reputation saw to that. Then again, many people knew about his reputation so they expected him to be late, which was the primary reason he wasn't worried about being late in the first place.

Today, like many other days before today, the silver-haired man couldn't think up of any good excuses for being late. Well, he did have a real reason this time around, but it would've been better if he came up with some other fake excuse instead of telling the truth – he had actually overslept. It was sad, he knew, but unfortunately true. Being a Jounin of the Hidden Leaf didn't help him wake up from slumber any earlier even if he tried, an unfortunate trait he held since childhood. He supposed he should've expected some sort of summons from the Third Hokage at a time like this when he was least prepared. A thought briefly flickered in his mind for the Hokage being rather mean by not calling him up in much more louder fashion (like someone banging on his apartment door, for instances). It sounded more realistic than sticking a small piece of paper in his mailbox.

Quickly dressing up in usual Jounin uniform, tying his Leaf forehead protector over his left eye and adjusting a mask over his mouth, he jumped out of the window of his apartment into the brilliant day outside. The breeze was calm, the sun bright, and the crowds below him lively. Yes, it seemed perfect, nothing out of place, and everything, as it should be…

He narrowed his visible one eye in frustration. Not many shared his thoughts, but he felt it was a bad omen. Not that he had any proof of such things, of course, but he couldn't help but quote a line from something called Murphy's Law he learned way back then…

_If anything can go wrong, it will._

Wishing that sinking feeling would just fade away, he quickly made his way towards the Hokage mansion before he was later than he already was. Fortunately, the trip was quick, and he ceased his movements once he landed in front of the doorsteps of the looming tower. Taking a step inside the old building, he nodded momentarily to the sentry posted to guard the place and walked inside confidently. After making his way through a few corridors and staircases, he arrived in front of a large two-door office. He was about to twist the knob open when a voice behind him stopped him.

"Ah, Kakashi, I figured you would show up around now. I was expecting you."

Hatake Kakashi slowly turned his body around to face his superior. He bowed his head forward in respect. "Good afternoon Hokage-sama." he raised his hand and scratched the back of his head. He tried to smile apologetically. "You see, I was training hard yesterday, and I overslept…"

The Third Hokage waved his hand dismissively. "I know." he said, smiling. He was one of the few people who could actually tell if Kakashi's excuse for being late was true or not. "Now then," the leader of the Hidden Leaf took a step towards his own office and opened the door for the both of them. "Come inside, we have things to discuss."

"Of course." replied Kakashi, a step behind his elder leader. His line of sight drifted from the left to the right to scout out the sparsely furnished room before he quietly closed the door behind him. When he was sure the door was firmly shut to ensure the room was now soundproof, he took the initiative and spoke first. "Why was I called?"

The Hokage was silent as he walked over to his desk and sat down in the chair behind it. He took his favorite smoking pipe from one of its drawers and lit the device before he finally answered Kakashi's question. "This is sudden, but I would like you to do me a favor."

He usually wasn't the one to resort to corny lines, but Kakashi said it anyway. "Your wish is my command. What is it you want me to do?"

Calmly breathing out smoke, the Hokage continued. "Orientation was held for twenty-seven Academy graduate students today." It wasn't a question, nor a statement. Rather, the Hokage put it in a way that was somewhere in between.

Kakashi caught the drift. "You want me to be a Jounin instructor for one of the teams?"

"Not just any team."

"Does this have to do something about the team's members?"

"Yes." the Hokage put down his smoking pipe on the table surface for a moment as he stared directly at Kakashi. He looked serious, a firm and hard expression etched on his face. "I have put Haruno Sakura, Uzumaki Naruto, and Uchiha Sasuke in the same team."

He understood immediately. "…I see."

"Given your…" the Hokage paused as he carefully chose his words. "Given your 'connection' to the three of them, I believe you are the only one fit for the job."

"But surely you're aware of my track record in handling Genin teams-"

His feeble attempt at a protest was dismissed just as easily. "I will trust your judgment on this matter. Now go," the Hokage urged him. "Your students are waiting for you."

With a nod, the Jounin vanished from the Hokage's office in a puff of smoke.

* * *

"Where the _hell_ is he?" Sakura exclaimed. She poked her head outside from one of the classroom's sliding doors as she scanned the hallway outside, hoping to catch even a glimpse of the person they were expecting. "All the other teams have gone off with their new instructors… Iruka-sensei also left… but we've been waiting here for _two_ freakin' hours already!" 

"You're absolutely right, Sakura-san." A calm voice agreed, as she heard someone approach her from behind. "Perhaps we should use this opportunity to-"

"Don't you _dare_ touch me, Sasuke. I'll _kick_ _your ass_." Sakura growled at him, clearly irritated at the Uchiha boy for even trying to strike up a conversation with her. "I never asked for your opinion."

Sasuke tried to counter her words by putting up a badly covered-up facade of hurt. "How mean, I was just trying to-"

She cut him off for a second time. "I _can_ get meaner if I really want to." she gave him one of her special death glares. "So shut up okay?"

The black haired boy only shrugged, but seemed to understand Sakura's threat and backed off for the time being, retreating into the near corner of the classroom as he leaned against the wall with his arms crossed. He was probably attempting to act 'cool' in front of her again… Sighing both out of relief and disgust, she hastily poked her head out of the classroom once more to see if anyone else had bothered to show up yet. It didn't take long for her patience to wear and she promptly went back to what she was doing before – sitting on a chair being bored.

Sakura really didn't like where her team was going already. She hated Sasuke, and therefore wasn't even in the mood to talk to him, much less be near him. Sakura already labeled him as a vermin that would destroy all womankind and targeted him for mean-spirited pranks – which had unfortunately been thwarted earlier by the mobs of girls were acting as his guardians. _I'll make you suffer someday._ Sakura made a silent vow within.

Her other teammate, Naruto, didn't turn out to be much better. He was also sitting on a chair not too far away from her, clearly looking bored as she was, but she had yet succeeded in making conversation with him. He looked like a typical loner type much like her before Iruka-sensei acknowledged her, minus the hyperactive personality. Well… basically, Sakura thought he was weird, and she felt awkward talking to him.

_Well, I gotta start somewhere… might as well try. _Sakura thought and she got up from her seat and steadily approached him.

At first glace, Naruto didn't look like a person that kept to himself – his attire was flamboyant: he wore a bright orange jumpsuit with a few signs of wear here and there, and tied his headband proudly around his forehead. He possessed blue eyes, long, spiky blond hair which was his greatest feature. Inner Sakura mentally scratched her head at this. Somehow, she and Outer Sakura thought they had seen that hairstyle somewhere before…

"Hiya." Sakura raised one of her hands in greeting. Naruto looked at her briefly with the corner of his eye. "Naruto, right?"

"Yes." he said.

"There we go, at least you know how to speak!" Sakura said enthusiastically as she plopped down on a chair besides him. "I believe we haven't been properly introduced." She offered him a hand. "I'm Haruno Sakura! Pleased to meet you Naruto!"

Naruto stared at the extended hand for a while as if it was the oddest thing in the world, but he eventually took his teammate's invitation and shook on it. "Uzumaki Naruto." he introduced himself simply, then let go of her hand. Sakura felt rather disappointed at his unresponsive attitude, but she shrugged it off. _Yup, weird guy._

"Well," the most unpleasant voice in the world for Sakura started to speak. "I believe I haven't been properly introduced as well." Sasuke had somehow crept up to them during their brief conversation (was that even a conversation?) and had leaned forward into a position where his face was dangerously close to hers. "I'm Uchiha Sasuke, and I-"

He was interrupted yet again when Sakura attempted to slap him. Sasuke was prepared for it this time, however, and he wisely took a step back to avoid the blow completely – but Sakura would be dammed if she stopped there. _I'm going to inflict some serious physical pain on this womanizer!_ Sakura thought as she grabbed the small book she was reading from earlier today from her pouch and threw it at the bugger with all her might. Unfortunately, the projectile missed completely, and instead flew towards the classroom door.

Nobody expected for the door to open then.

Sakura helplessly watched as the book found its mark upon the person who walked in at that unfortunate moment, the flat part of the book hitting the tall man square in the face.

"He did it!" Sakura quickly pointed an accusing finger at Sasuke, attempting to cover up the blame.

It was obvious even to the untrained eye that Team Seven had failed to make a good first impression on their new Jounin instructor.

_

* * *

How troublesome… _

Kakashi was not a member of the Nara clan by any means, but he couldn't help but feel lazy at task he was assigned to. True, these three young children who he was ordered to teach were unique and had conflicting pasts that could potentially erupt into something huge later on, but these were still children after all – and children tended to be annoying. He _could_ see why the Hokage had assigned him, of all Jounins in this village, to these three, but he really didn't think he was the only one capable for the task.

After wondering what he should do next for a brief moment, he decided to take his three students to the roof of a nearby building to have a brief meeting. Arriving at their destination, he quickly got comfortable atop the roof fence and looked over the three. He didn't want to waste anymore time than he already has, so he opened up a conversation topic immediately. "Well, how about we start with some introductions?"

"Introductions?" the black-haired boy named Uchiha Sasuke spoke. "What should we say?"

The Jounin spread his hands out little as he shrugged. "Well, how about your likes, dislikes, dreams for the future, hobbies…" he crossed his arms in front of him when he couldn't think up of anything else. "Well, stuff like that."

"Why won't you introduce yourself first?" a quiet voice said, its source being Uzumaki Naruto. "We know nothing about you."

"Me?" Kakashi pointed a finger at himself. "My name is Hatake Kakashi. I have no desire to tell you guys my likes and dislikes. Dreams for the future? Hmm…. Well, I have a lot of hobbies…" he trailed off, lost in thought.

"Hey, hey, wait a second!" Haruno Sakura, the hyperactive pink-haired girl shook an accusing finger at him. "All we learned about you is your name!"

"So?" Kakashi shrugged again. "Anyhow, it's your turn. You first."

"Fine!" Sakura grumbled. "I'm Haruno Sakura! My favorite thing in the entire world is Dango! What I like even more is the Dango Iruka-sensei buys me at the Ichiraku! I don't like… well, I don't like Sasuke!" Sasuke's face seemed to fault a little upon her announcement, but he managed to refrain himself from making lewd comments this time to avoid the fury of pink. Ignorant of Sasuke's thoughts and feelings, the girl continued. "My hobbies… ummm, reading books I guess. Novels. And my dream for the future is to become not only the best kunoichi in the village, but the best ninja and become the future Hokage!"

_So this girl has grown up in an interesting way…_

"Okay, next."

"I'm Uchiha Sasuke. The things I like… well, it more has to do with my hobby… but…" he stole a glace to the girl sitting as far away as she could possibly can. "I'm sure you get the picture." he said bluntly, drawing a distasteful glare from Sakura which he didn't seem to take notice of. "I don't have any particular dislikes… ah, annoying people will be one of them. My dreams for the future? Well… I would like to be stronger…" he trailed off, sounding unsure of himself.

_Geez, if he'd be a little more ambitious he'd be best at everything… he probably feels overshadowed by his older brother. I guess that was to be expected._

Kakasahi sighed inwardly, and then glanced over to the quiet boy in back. "Alright, the last one."

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto." he began, as if it were a speech he'd carefully prepared. "I have many things I don't like, but then again I don't really like anything. The closest thing to a hobby of mine will have to be… training. And…" he paused a little, carefully contemplating his next few words. "It's not exactly a 'dream', but I have two goals. One is to finish what my father has started… and… to kill a certain woman."

Oblivious to the two other students who started at Naruto with weird and confused glances, Kakashi narrowed his eyes in trivial frustration.

…_I thought so. The 'Ne' incident still weighs heavy in his mind…_

"Well then, you three are all interesting…" Kakashi said, trying to break whatever tension his newly formed team felt. "We'll begin our missions starting tomorrow."

"Hell yeah, now we're talking!" that was Sakura, with all of her cheerfulness. "What kind of missions, sir?" she gave him a mock salute.

"First, we are going to do something we can do with just the four of us."

"Well, spill it! What will it be?" asked the excited pink-haired girl.

Behind his mask, Kakashi formed a small smile. He was going to have some fun with this. "Survival training." he said.

"Survival training?" it was Sasuke who asked the questions this time. "Why is training our mission? We have done enough training back at the Academy."

Kakashi's smile widened, still hidden from view thanks to the black cloth that covered his mouth. "I'm your opponent, but this isn't normal training."

"Then what is it?" Sakura asked, a slight irritated tone in her voice.

Kakashi tilted his head downwards; he was unable to hold back the chuckled sound that soon came forth from his mouth. _Oh, these kids are so clueless…_

"What's so funny?" that was Naruto, sounding just as much irritated as Sakura before him.

"No, well…" Kakashi managed a slight pause within his fit of giggles. "It's just that… when I tell you guys this, you guys are definitely going to flip."

"Huh?" Sakura said, obviously confused.

"Of the twenty-seven graduates, only nine will be chosen as Genin." he answered. "The rest will be sent back to the Academy. So that means… that this 'training' is actually a super-difficult test with a failure rate of over sixty-six percent!"

He observed the unique facial expressions written on the face of his three students for a moment before he erupted into light laughter. "Haha, told you you'd flip…" he chuckled.

"What the hell?" that was Sakura, obviously. "But… but we worked so hard… then what was the point in graduating?"

"That?" Kakashi shrugged. "That's just to scout out the possible Genin candidates."

"_Whaaaaat?"_

He ignored her outburst and continued. "Anyway, tomorrow you will be graded on the training field. Bring all your shinobi equipment and assemble there at five in the morning. Well then…" he got off from the railing he was sitting and turned to leave. "Dismissed. Oh, and one more thing… skip breakfast. You'll throw up."

Oh, what he would give for a camera now.

* * *

Even though he didn't show it, Nartuo was probably the most annoyed out of his three teammates. At first he only felt disrespect for his new Jounin sensei when he failed to dodge the book that was thrown at him when they first met, even if it were unintentional. And then his cocky attitude… that was just plain aggravating. Then came this sudden 'mission' where the balance of his Genin career already hung on the line. He couldn't fail here. He had his own life mission to accomplish. 

Grumbling to himself, he woke up at four-thirty in the morning and headed to the not-so-distant ninja training field. He came to this place several times, so he knew the area well. He expected to be the first one there but was mildly surprised when he found Sakura there first – although she was sleeping whist leaning back on her small pink backpack. As he slowly approached, he briefly wondered if he should wake her from her slumber, but to his slight surprise she opened her eyes before he had a chance to shake her awake.

"Mm… Naruto?" she said sleepily as she sat up, rubbing her eyes.

He nodded, keeping a relative comfortable distance between him and her. "Yes, Sakura-chan. Good morning."

Sakura looked at him with a bewildered look before he observed a slight blush come to her cheeks. "Don't call me chan, Naruto. It's… not fitting." she smiled lightly.

"Sakura-san, then?" he asked.

She made a face. "Ugh, no. You calling me like that will remind me of Sasuke. Sakura is fine, Naruto. I don't call you Naruto-kun or Naruto-san."

"That's true." he mused. He saw her taking long blinks a few times, probably trying to rid of the sleepiness that clouded her eyes. "Sakura, how long have you been here?" he asked.

Sakura slowly climbed to her feet. "Hmm… I dunno. About ten minutes?"

"Were you here first?"

She shrugged. "I guess. I don't see that lecher around."

Naruto smiled faintly. "True." He soon noticed that Sakura was staring directly at him. "Is there anything wrong?"

"No, it's just… say, can I ask you something?"

"Yes?"

"…have I met you before?"

Naruto said nothing. Instead, he stared at his female teammate, and narrowed his eyes in pity. She was ignorant – of course his face will seem familiar. His father's face was a common site for all who lived in this village. Himself, he was just a shadow…

He turned his back, instead focusing his thoughts on the trials that were to come.

* * *

Sakura was furious. Many small, irritating things added up, and it was reaching boiling point. 

First annoyance: waking up so freakin' early.

Second annoyance: Naruto giving her the cold shoulder. And just when she was thinking he could talk after all – she just couldn't understand him. Did she say something wrong?

Third annoyance: When Sasuke appeared soon afterwards and tried to smooth talk her. What was even more frustrating was that he wasn't just all talk, he was actually quite good in fights and dodged and blocked her blows easily.

And Fourth: when Kakashi-sensei finally showed up… _six hours late._ And what did he say when he did?

"Hey guys, good morning."

_Oh god, the nerve!_

"_You're LATE!"_ Sakura literally screamed at him, shaking her annoyed fist at her. Argh, she wanted to beat the crap out of this bastard! Sasuke besides her nodded in agreement (which she rather appreciated, for a change) and Naruto acted as if he didn't care.

"Sorry, sorry! You see, a black cat crossed my path, and…" Sakura gave him the death glare, and Kakashi stopped his excuse right there. "Ah, well, anyway…" Trying his best to ignore the looks his students gave him, he then took out a rather large alarm clock from his backpack and set it down on top of a nearby tree stump. "Okay, it's set to noon."

"Huh, what's that?" Sakura asked, clueless.

Kakashi narrowed his eyes in visible annoyance. "It's an alarm clock, can't you tell? Or is your forehead too big to comprehend?"

That did it. She could've just let that insult slide, but having heard that same insult from Ino yesterday (the mere thought of what transpired yesterday made her want to screech in anger) it was rather difficult for her to hold back as instinctive rage took over her mind. Before either Naruto or Sasuke could stop her, Sakura quickly unstrapped her weapons holster, pulled out a kunai and raised it high above her head with intent to throw it at her insensitive teacher with all her might.

Sakura suddenly felt a cold, pointy metal prickle the back of her neck, freezing her motions solid.

"Sheesh, slow down…" A cool voice behind her said. Sakura blinked once, then twice, and her eyes opened wide in surprise. Her teacher in front of her had disappeared from sight, only to be replaced by the man who was now standing behind her, and held her arm in a position which made her point her own kunai to the back of her neck. "I haven't even started explaining yet. You're a feisty one aren't you?"

_I couldn't even see him…_

"I, uh…" she tried to speak, but her words were stuck in her throat, unable to express.

Much to her relief, Kakashi soon released his hold and Sakura felt her arms fall limp to her side. "Well, at least I guess that means you're willing to take this exam seriously." She saw him smile behind his mask. He took a quick look at Naruto and Sasuke, who both had their hands in their holsters, ready to use its contents if need be. He nodded a small nod. "And you guys too. Maybe I can start liking you guys." He added.

He coughed once to ease the tension. "Well then, now that I have your full attention, let me explain." A near-silent ring echoed the premises as he took out two small silver bells from his pockets. "Here are two bells. Your task is to take these from me before noon. Those who can't get a bell by noon, will get no lunch. Not only that," Kakashi motioned over with his head to the three tree stumps located in the center of the training area. "I'll tie you to one of those stumps and eat lunch in front of you."

Sakura felt her stomach growl. _Dammit, so this is why he told us not to eat…_

"You only need to get one bell to pass." Kakashi continued his explanation. "There are only two, so one of you three will definitely be tied to a stump. Also…" Sakura saw Kakashi's eyes narrow a little. "The person who doesn't take the bell will fail. So, at least one of you will be sent back to the Academy." he then visibly relaxed, as he tossed the bells slightly in the air and caught them back again with a flick of the wrist. "You can even use your Shurikens. You won't succeed unless you come at me with the intention to kill."

Sakura gulped down her nervousness she felt building up in her throat. This was serious. It was no joke. She will need – no, she had to get those bells, or her dream would come to an end. She was the type of person who didn't believe in chances, who didn't believe in 'oh there's always next year' kind of crap. _I have to succeed._

"Well then… let's get going." she heard her teacher mumble lazily. "Ready… start!"

The three students all jumped in different locations, blinking away from view.

* * *

It was the most basic of strategies – the art of concealment. To hide oneself from enemy, and attack with the element of surprise; a tactic so simple, yet effective and a critical skill that separated the dead and the alive in the field of battle. At first, when his students vanished from his immediate vision, Kakashi contemplated the thought of commending them for their decision to hide away the first chance they got. 

So he had to convince himself it was only natural that he staggered a bit back in mild surprise when one of his students didn't hide himself away after all. Uchiha Sasuke stood before him as if he were proud, his arms crossed in front of him, chin high, static and seemingly prepared.

"Come and fight me!" he declared.

Kakashi crooked his head a bit to the side as he scratched his head. "Umm, you're a bit off…"

"Tsk." he heard Sasuke say, and watched his hands reach in his nin-tool pouch. "The only thing that's a bit off is your haircut." Sasuke tossed a few kunai towards his immediate direction, which Kakashi easily sidestepped.

He didn't miss the boy's actions afterwards. To the untrained eye it would've looked as if Sasuke had vanished in front of him with a puff of smoke, but in reality he was already behind him prepared to knock him off his feet with a leg sweep. Kakashi had to admit to himself that he held some skill to take his behind like that in the brief second he was distracted from dodging the Kunai, but at the same time he knew Sasuke was still too naïve. His student's attack hit nothing but the air and space with Kakashi had just previously occupied. Instead, he now stood behind Sasuke, taking his behind just like his student had done seconds ago. He teasingly then tapped onto Sasuke's shoulder, startling the boy who was so sure his kick hit at his intended target. Instinctively, he spun around and tried to deliver a backhand punch at his instructor, but to his demise he was no longer there, and had instead retreated back to his original position.

"Decent. I'll give you that." Kakashi tilted his head back slightly as his right hand went towards his item poach. "For that, I'll teach you something. Ninja Fighting Lesson #1 – taijutsu.".

* * *

Sakura, who hid herself behind the bushes, watched with some interest the fight between the lecher and the teacher. Well, not just a lecher, but also a definite show off. She didn't miss the tiny wink he threw at her when Sasuke declared his intention to stay put and fight. _What a moron… he probably wants to show what he's capable in front of me so I'll swoon over his strength. Ha! Like I'll fall for that!_

She had to quickly change her initial hiding spot, since Sakura was pretty damn sure her teacher knew whom that wink was for, and thus revealed her position. So not only did that Sasuke bastard try to show off some idiotic macho or whatever, but he had put her at risk! She mentally noted to herself to strangle him later, but seeing the brief skirmish between Sasuke and Kakashi, the thought faded away. This teacher of hers was strong. An image formed in her mind of Sasuke being beaten up to a pulp in front of her, and she quietly smiled at the thought. Her smile almost disappeared however when she quickly realized just what this teacher was capable of. She was going to have to think something that was damn clever to pry those bells off this sensei of hers.

Satisfied with her new hiding position, she watched the battle between Sasuke and Kakashi carefully. If she was going to try to get those bells off him, then she had to digest every bit of information she could get her hands on to work an advantage

Later, she considered regretting that decision as she watched Kakashi pull out a perverted book from his pouch…

Inner Sakura quickly reminded herself that she ONLY knew of that book because she needed a reference guide when she was struggling with Sexy no Jutsu, not because she was…_okay, train of thought, stop right there._

…and took advantage of an infuriated Sasuke to perform the Hidden Leaf's Ancient Taijutsu Secret Technique – 'a thousand years of pain'.

It was simply a powerful ass poke.

"I'm surrounded by idiots." she said to herself quietly.

* * *

Not too far away, Naruto was thinking the exact same thing as he watched Sasuke fall into the nearby river with a loud _splash_. "Tsk… this isn't going to be easy." 

"Hoh, you're going up against that hentai?" a voice behind him said. _Wha…? _Naruto quickly spun around. The owner didn't even bother trying to hide, as the figure that spoke raised a hand in greeting in plain sight of Naruto. "Hey."

Naruto was silent for a while. "…what are you doing here." he then finally said. It wasn't really a question. It was a demand.

The laughing eyes of the slightly older boy behind Naruto never wavered from his indirect threat. "I was worried about your sorry ass?" he replied, his expression ever indifferent.

Naruto grunted and turned his attention back to the battle between Sasuke and Kakashi. As he watched Sasuke struggle out of the river, he spat words back at the boy behind him. "You're in my way."

"And I should be hurt by sorry ass's words?

"Go away. You can get me disqualified." his eyes never drifted away from his current focus.

"I never said I was going to help you fight your battle, sorry ass."

"…that's three times." Naruto was quickly running out of patience. The quiet giggle that followed was certainly _not_ helping. Then it stopped.

"Sorry ass."

"…four."

No giggle this time. "I dropped by your apartment just a few minutes ago."

"…" he was silent. Naruto already knew what was coming next.

A sigh. "Stubborn bastard."

"…"

"I made that especially for your sorr-" the older boy paused, and as if he was actually considerate, the black-haired boy changed the words that he intended to finish the sentence with. "For _you_."

"…"

"You can use it a little, right?"

This time Naruto decided to break his unresponsive attitude and nodded once.

"I'll put it here. Do whatever you want with it." And with that, the presence of the older boy behind him vanished, only leaving behind some parting words. "Sorry ass." And he was gone.

"…that's five." Naruto mumbled as he reached his hands to feel the item the older boy left behind. A scroll. It was something Naruto had left at home, and seeing that he did, the older boy brought it to him. He really didn't want to use it. Using it meant that he was following in that older boy's footsteps as he was copying his techniques. It was true that he learned it from him… but he wanted to be different. He wanted to be strong in his own way. Above everything, he was tired of being a shadow. Of his father. Of his family, his comra…

"…**_ame. Why, why did you…?"_**

_No._

_No._

_I will not end up like them._

"How stupid." Naruto commented as he observed Sasuke get beaten up into a pulp while the teacher calmly continued to read that odd book of his. He stared at the scroll he now gripped in his hand. He smiled. The decision was already made. "…pfft, why am I being like this. I'm not following in his footsteps… I just stole this from him. That's all." Naruto's hand went over the small wooden pole that was stuck in the middle of the scroll. He then twisted open the top of the pole and pulled out a small brush from within. Likewise, he twisted open the bottom and pulled to reveal a cartridge full of ink, with a small hole wide enough to dip the brush in.

"I won't let you tell me otherwise, Sai."

He opened the scroll, and started to draw on the blank pages.

* * *

_**Hey, what's wrong Sasuke?**_

_**Remember, if you don't get a bell by noon, no lunch for you!**_

**_- Hatake Kakashi_**

-

_**Tainted Demon Eyes**_

_**- Chapter Four -**_

"**_That Silver Haired Daddy of Mine"_**

_**-END-**_

**_

* * *

Author's Notes: _**

Oh. My. God.

It's been so long. I can't believe it took me, like, an entire year to finish this chapter up. I had flashes of inspiration here and there, but for the longest time I couldn't just sit in front of the computer and type out something that was satisfactory. And finally, I have finished writing that is presentable to the outside world… at least, I hope so. Format is giving me headaches though. I have been away too long. I'll probably have to tear down the first three chapters just so the format looks the same again… uuuugh.

Oh, and I should probably put it in the acknowledgements section that this fanfiction has manga spoilers in it, huh… with Sai appearing so soon in the story timeline like that… oh well.

And yes, Sai is not an OC. In fact, I doubt I will be introducing any OC's in this fic. Of course, many many characters will be OOC since, after all, this in an AU (although yes, there were parts in this chapter that was nearly a copy of the original… I'm working on that, trust me). Anyway, about Sai. If you've been up-to-speed on the latest Naruto chapters, you'll know who he is, and what the scroll Naruto holding does (although I think some of you can already guess from the hints). In fact, I will most likely be introducing some Naruto characters much earlier into the Naruto storyline compared to the original. Sai is merely the first one to appear in this fanfic.

Anyways… this chapter, a little glimpse into the past of Naruto (not a very happy one), and Sasuke beaten up to a pulp with Inner Sakura cheering at the sight… so sorry Sasuke fans. I don't hate him or anything. Really. He will have his moments, I promise.

Reviews, comments, criticism, feel free to drop them by!

_- Nes Mikel_

_(Chapter Format Revised, 01/15/06)_

_**

* * *

Japanese Word Translations in Chapter Four (in order of appearance): **_

**_hokage _**– literal translation is "shadow of fire". Title given to the leaders of the Hidden Leaf.

**_jounin_** – expert-class ninjas on the ninja hierarchy.

**_sama _**– attached after a name, could mean "lord" or "master". Either work.

**_genin _**– novice-class ninjas on the ninja hierarchy.

**_sensei _**– teacher

_**san**– _attached after a name, it is a way of calling people out of respect. It could mean "Mr", "Miss" or "Mrs".

**_dango _**– a traditional Japanese sweet/snack. Packed full of stuff called 'anko', which I'm not exactly sure what it's made out of.

**_ichiraku _**– a ramen stand in "Naruto". Literal translation is "easy one". I think. Could be wrong.

**_ne_** – literal translation is "root". In "Naruto", this is a name of an actual Anbu squad.

**_shinobi _**– literal translation is "those who stealth". Another word for ninjas.

_**chan**– _attached after a name, it is a way of calling people who are considerably younger than you, or a girl, or as a form of a pet name. Closest translation will be "Miss", but this word can be used for men, too, so it is rather incorrect.

**_kun _**– attached after a name, basically it's used to call someone who is younger than you or about the same age. What makes it confusing is that it's used in some other situations that is rather hard to explain.

**_kunai _**– small, metallic daggers used by ninjas. Mostly used as throwing weapons, but unlike shuriken it could also be used as melee weapons.

**_shuriken _**– a small, star -shaped, quadruple-bladed throwing weapon used by ninjas. However, shuriken's shape and size can vary widely. The example I gave in this explanation is just the most common form of shrunken.

**_nin_** – shortened version of the word 'ninja'.

**_taijutsu _**– literal translation is "body technique." In "Naruto", these are physical combat techniques used by ninjas. Some combat taijutsus require the use of chakra, but most do not.

**_sexy no jutsu _**– sexy (seduction) technique. Sexy and Naked lady appears in front of you. A one shot KO technique to most men.

**_hentai_** – pervert. Typically used as an insult.


	5. Robert McNamara’d into Submission

"**_Tainted Demon Eyes"_**

_By Nes Mikel_

_Acknowledgment;_

_I herby acknowledge that the work of fiction presented here is for my own personal amusement and entertainment purposes alone. Most of the story, characters, place names and other etc stuff in this fiction are copyright Naruto, Kishimoto Masashi, Weekly Shounen Jump, and any others I might have forgot. Enjoy._

_**

* * *

**_

- Chapter Five -

"**_Robert McNamara'd into Submission"_**

"_Well, there's no need for you guys to go back to the Academy." – Kakashi

* * *

_

_The world was red._

_Crimson moonlight._

_Scarlet darkness._

_Illuminated by that ominous light, the stains on the walls slowly became visible._

_Handprints._

_Red handprints._

_Stained of blood._

_He looked down, and stared at his hands._

_Stained of blood._

_The room was full of blood and corpses._

_And inside that tranquil-still chaos… she was there. Spread across the floor like a broken toy, her dead eyes staring blankly at the ceiling. Her slender neck, sliced open from a katana wound, the blood flowing freely. He still couldn't believe she was the one responsible for the deaths of everyone in the room. She, the one responsible for it all, and he… he was the one that had stopped her. He was the one that killed her. He killed her._

_He slowly approached the immobile body. Feeling weak, he sunk to his knees. His eyes… his eyes… they were hurting so bad. _

_The cursed power was beginning to awaken._

_The world was red._

_He screamed. "This… couldn't be happening…!"_

_A voice. "But it is."_

_Then the world became black._

The vision ended, and accompanied by a loud gasp, the man's eyes snapped open as he was violently awakened from slumber. Immediately his hands went for his face, and commanded his body to stop the flow of chakra towards the eyes. He stared at the mirror hanging from the wall of his room nearby and watched the reflection of his red Sharingan eyes slowly fading into its original black color. It was soon gone. Letting his hands fall back limp onto the sheets, he slowly sat up from his bed. He breathed out a heavy sigh.

That dream again.

He glanced at the small clock besides his bed. It was eleven-thirty in morning. Seven hours of sleep. He had come back late last night after finishing a mission he was assigned from the ANBU – his uniform was still scattered across the floor of his room. Noting the time, his thoughts briefly flickered towards the well being of his brother. _Sasuke must be doing that 'survival training' mission by now… _he remembered.

Sasuke.

**_"You shouldn't say what you just said, aniki! You've made more girls cry than I have."_**

_**"At least I held true to my word."**_

**_"Geez, I don't understand you. You have better looks than me, you're stronger than me, you have more ladies swoon over you, yet you don't take advantage of that!"_**

_Why don't I take advantage of that?_

_Because, my dear brother… I can't… I can't forget her…_

"I wish I could, Sasuke." he mumbled to himself dryly. "And be like you."

_She gave me a mark that I will have to carry on for the rest of my life._

_These cursed eyes._

_The Kaleidoscope._

Lightly biting his lower lip, Uchiha Itachi rose from his bed and started to dress for the day.

* * *

Inside the Hidden Leaf's Practice Arena #3, Uchiha Sasuke was having the time of his life – in a negative way. He felt that what he was experiencing right now could be easily be counted as one of the worst days of his life. He had a feeling that the list will grow longer as the days passed by if he was stuck with this sensei of his. 

In fact, at this precise moment, he was being hung upside down by the leg from a tree. He could almost feel Sakura desperately trying to hold back her burst of laughter and Naruto smirking at him somewhere in the immediate area. His cheeks were flushed red, and kept on telling himself that it wasn't because of embarrassment, but because of gravity rushing blood to his cheeks.

The bell below him ringed a little as the man who dropped it purposely picked it up again. "Don't fall for such obvious traps, idiot."

Gritting his teeth in anger, he seethed out a retort. "…goddamnit."

He saw Kakashi smile behind the mask, taunting him. "A ninja must be able to read what's underneath the underneath."

"I know that!" he spat out.

Sasuke heard him chuckle. "Umm, I'm telling you because you don't. Using Bunshin no Jutsu to make me think that you're attacking from the front was a good idea to take my behind – although next time I recommend you do something about the splashes clones _should_ make when coming out the water as if they were actual bodies instead of just passing right through the water. Otherwise it's too easy to tell which clones are the fakes. Not only that, but once I used Kawarimi no Jutsu and you hit a puff of smoke, you got startled at the sudden turn of events. You thought I was hiding in one of the clones and canceled your jutsu, which left you exposed out in the open. Bad idea, that one. Nice way of making yourself a target practice. You should at least be able to keep track of which clones are yours and which ones are not."

"Shut up!" Sasuke yelled as he pulled out a kunai from his leg holster. "I'll get out of this trap and show y-"

_Thuthuthunk._

Sasuke's eyes went wide as he watched the body of his Jounin instructor fall to the ground, his body riddled with dozens of senbon. "Shit!" he exclaimed. "You guys went too fa-"

_Poof!_

Kakashi's 'body' turned into a log riddled with holes.

W_hat the hell? He used kawarimi again? _The realization of what had just happened dawned on him quickly. _Damn… he used me and showed an opening on purpose to lure out the other two and expose where they are!_

It was only then Sasuke first took notice of the black senbons embedded in the wooden log. They seemed slightly odd in shape, and were slowly melting as it turned into liquid. A small, black puddle was starting to form at the base of the log.

…_what the hell is that?_

"Bah. Whatever." he shook his head to clear his thoughts, choosing to ignore that odd substance for now. "I'm not going to fall for his stupid traps again." he grumbled as he cut the rope that was holding him up and landed gracefully back on the ground.

Sasuke had to eat his words as another trap activated as soon as he touched the ground. He found himself dangling upside down from the tree yet again.

"Goddamnit!"

Oh yes, he certainly was having the time of his life.

_

* * *

Hmm, she's better than I thought._ Kakashi scratched his head as he watched his student dispel the genjutsu he conjured up around her. 

After luring Naruto out with his bait and taking note of his current position, he noticed Sakura dash out of her hiding spot with the corner of his eye and decided to surprise her first. The genjutsu was meant to show Sakura a battered Sasuke in near-death. A thought flickered briefly in his mind that perhaps he went a bit far, but was pleasantly surprised when Sakura merely gulped at the vision and formed the seals for Release.

"Ninja Fighting Lesson #2 – genjutsu. I guess you knows the basis." he started to go through a few hand seals himself, trying hard to ignore the glare his student gave him.

"Bring it on, bastard." she hissed.

"Now, now, is that any way to treat your superior?"

"You're not my superior yet!" Sakura yelled at him. "I'm going to kick your ass and make you _beg_ that you are my superior!"

"Touché."

"You want genjutsu? I'll give you genjutsu!" Kakashi narrowed his eye as he watched her form seals and finished it with a cross seal. "_Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!_"

"That's not really a genjutsu… you're not listening to me, are you?" he said as his student manifested a dozen shadow clones of herself.

_So this is the forbidden skill she used to defeat Mizuki with… I guess I should take her a bit more seriously than Sasuke before._

"Well then, let's up the ante."

Sakura and her clones replied to his taunt in sync by hollering out an angry yell and charged at him directly. Kakashi lazily finished the seals he was forming, and small flare of chakra erupted as his technique was executed.

_Genjutsu: Kuukan Wakyoku no Jutsu!_

* * *

Naruto was carefully hidden amidst the leaves not too far away, now observing the battle between Sakura and Kakashi with interest. 

Truth be told, he didn't like where this was going, not one bit. He had greatly underestimated this teacher of his – he had even forced his hand. Not realizing it was a trap, when he saw the opening Kakashi made Naruto quickly formed the appropriate seals and transferred the essence of his chakra into the scroll. When his chakra and the special ink he used to formulate merged, the simple black lines written on the scroll materialized and became sharp senbon that could easily be controlled by Naruto's will. He had flung all of them at Kakashi with the intent to disable him and snatch away the bells… but instead, he had hit a log. Quickly realizing that he was baited, he hurriedly moved out of his hiding spot to conceal himself again. To his relief, Kakashi hadn't come after him immediately and instead pursued an exposed Sakura.

His lips tightened. To think that his _Senbon Giga _taught by Sai was defeated so easily… and as much Naruto hated the thought, he had to admit that the _Senbon Giga_ was one of the best techniques he knew.

It was then when Sakura started to form a sequence of hand seals. This irked his curiosity, as he had never seen these sequences before. The basic seals for the technique were similar to bunshin no jutsu, but a few extra seals were throw in the procession and it ended with an unfamiliar one. At first he thought they were bunshins added with perhaps some sort of illusionary element, but Naruto quickly realized the clones Sakura created were not illusions, but actual physical bodies.

_Impressive… _Naruto inwardly praised Sakura.

The Sakura clones quickly surrounded Kakashi cutting off his escape to the side, and charged at the teacher. The results were unspectacular as they ended up colliding into each other and dematerialized into puffs of smoke, leaving behind a dazed and confused Sakura. She quickly came to her senses and followed it up with a string of curses. "Dammit! That's not fair!" he heard her say.

It was Kakashi's genjutsu, Kuukan Wakyoku no Jutsu, Naruto realized. To put it simply, the jutsu distorted the images of the immediate expanse by controlling small amounts of water vapor found naturally in the air. It created pseudo mirrors that bent and refracted light, and as a result it threw the visionary senses of people caught in the jutsu into pandemonium. With their senses of direction thrown into disarray, the clones had collided into each other and canceled each other out.

_This also means that there's no guarantee that the Kakashi standing in the middle of the field there is the real one. _Naruto analyzed. _If I were he, I would've hidden away from view right after that… he plans to lure me out again._

He quickly checked the ink cartridge inside the _Giga no Maki _scroll. It was nearly empty. He didn't have any more room for error now. He doubted the same trick would work twice anyways.

Well then, if one of his best techniques didn't work… the answer was simple. He had to use his best technique, and lure _him_ out instead. He quickly rolled the scroll open and dipped his brush into the ink and started to sketch. Carefully finishing up the final touches to his drawing, Naruto quickly formed the necessary seals with his spare hand and molded the necessary chakra.

"Ninpou: Chouju Giga."

A black and white drawing of a lion started to manifest from the scroll as it unleashed itself from the confines of paper.

_

* * *

Okay, calm down Sakura. This is just a genjutsu, it's not real… I can just dispel it like the last one._ She formed the seals for Release. "Kai!" she yelled. 

Nothing happened.

"…wha?"

"Tsk tsk." the ever-annoying teacher standing not too far away from her said, his eye never wavering from the perverted book he continued to read. "I'll teach you something Sakura. The seals for genjutsu release will only work when one is stuck in an illusionary world, and if the user has enough chakra and corresponding control to break it. You are not stuck in an illusionary world, and that's why it's not working. I know you're bad at executing jutsus, but don't worry! It's not because you have bad chakra control! Haha-"

Although Sakura knew that her four shurikens would hit nothing but air, she threw them anyway. As expected, they were all flung in four separate directions, nowhere near close to where she was aiming. Sakura knew that she wasn't the best when it came to accuracy, but she was quite certain all four of them would've hit her teacher dead on if it weren't for the jutsu he cast around him. She was starting to understand how this worked. "So this jutsu is somehow just distorting my sense of direction?" she asked, not really expecting an answer.

"Bingo." She faulted a little at his announcement when he confirmed her suspicions without a hint of worry. _This guy isn't concerned at all even if I figured out his technique!_ Inner Sakura growled. His cheerfulness was really starting to get on her nerves.

"Well then, let's see if you can dodge this with your technique!" she went through the seals for her favorite technique once more. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Ten shadow clones appeared behind her.

"Kage Bunshin again?" her teacher replied in a bored tone. "Haven't you already figured out that technique won't work against me?"

She grinned as she and her clones readied themselves for battle. "This jutsu creates actual physical copies of myself."

"Riiight. So?"

"Perfect copies of my body, my clothes, and… my ninja equipment."

That got his attention. The bored look on her sensei's face slowly dissipated and turned serious. At the very least she made him stop reading his book. Sakura and her clones reached for their weapon holsters and pulled out a batch of shuriken. "So you can dodge a few of my shuriken by distorting my sense of direction. Congratulations. But can you dodge a hundred shuriken flung in all directions?" she smiled triumphantly as she and her clones readied their weapons. "Take this! _Kage Bunshin: Shuriken no Mai!_"

She saw Kakashi smile behind the mask.

Sakura froze. Her instinct was screaming at her that something was wrong. Dead wrong.

"Yeah, it's true." he admitted. "If you do that, even with the genjutsu active I wouldn't be able to protect myself from the barrage, but…"

The image of Kakashi disappeared in front of her.

"Only if that was the real me."

Her moment of glory came crashing down the moment the voice behind her started speaking. "No wa-" she didn't even have the time to blink as all of her ten clones dissipated into a puff of smoke with a simple swipe by her Jounin teacher's hand. Kakashi was standing behind her all along! In desperation she quickly spun around to throw the shurikens she still held in her hands, but they clattered to the ground useless when Kakashi twisted her arm to her back and he locked her in a vice grip.

"The concept was good." he complemented. "Never let your guard down though, and you should pay more close attention to your surroundings. You never even spared a glace to your rear."

Sakura struggled to move her arms, but they were locked firmly in place. It was useless. Her head sagged down as she realized that she was defeated. _It's over… I lost._

"Oh, and watch out." Kakashi called out.

"Huh?" her head snapped back up, only to come face-to-face with a lion. "AAAAAAHHH!" she screamed, and was suddenly forced roughly down into the ground. Her face met dirt, and Sakura promptly lost consciousness.

* * *

"Geez, and I just told her to never let your guard down too." Kakashi mumbled. He had pushed down Sakura into the ground to move her out of harm's way whilst he dodged the _Giga_ lions that came after him and his female student with the intent to kill. He drew two kunai from his holster and threw it behind him without sparing a glance and was met with a satisfying _splash_ sound. The counterfeits had lost its ability to maintain its physical form and turned back into ink. 

He recognized that technique, and he frowned. That idiot. He glanced at the figure of Naruto sitting atop a nearby tree branch, calmly observing the whole situation. "Chouju Giga, huh… a chuunin-level ninjutsu that is able to physically create a berserker copy of any animal from a simple drawing. A genin like you shouldn't have enough chakra to be able to use that jutsu…"

"Thanks for the praise, but it's over." the Naruto behind him responded.

Naruto had used Henge no Jutsu to change into one of the two _Giga_ lions that attacked him and Sakura to cover the fact that he was attacking Kakashi head on, and left a bunshin behind at his original hiding spot to camouflage where he really was. Naruto only had charged in just now because he was certain that the Kakashi restraining Sakura was the real one since normal clones could not come in contact physically. For Naruto, this looked like a golden opportunity to swipe the bells from his Jounin instructor.

_So predictable._ Kakashi thought.

"Nice plan Naruto, but just so you know, Sakura's not the only one who knows how to use Kage Bunshin." The clone above the ground disappeared in a puff of smoke when Kakashi canceled the jutsu, and before Naruto could react to what had just happened, he made his move and thrust his hands out of the ground. Kakashi grabbed his ankle, and Naruto was now within his grasp.

"Below you. Doton: Shinjuu Zanshu no Jutsu!" Kakashi yanked, and pulled a wailing Naruto beneath the ground only leaving his head above the dirt floor. Kakashi then slowly climbed out of the ground himself, dusting off a few dirt crumbs off that had attached itself to his Jounin uniform.

"Ninja Fighting Lesson #3 – ninjutsu. I'll admit, you're already heads above the others in this area, but…" Kakashi's face turned serious as he stared Naruto directly at the eye. "You've just done something you shouldn't have."

Naruto avoid his gaze.

Kakashi shrugged as he stood up. "I'm going to take care of Sasuke. You take care of Sakura. You owe her that much. After all, you took advantage of her."

Leaving a grumbling Naruto behind, he left the area. It didn't take long for Kakashi to find Sasuke.

"Pfft, instead of wasting time trying to get the bell, I can just hide and eat the lunches now." Kakashi heard Sasuke say, hidden behind a stone monument trying to open the lunchboxes.

Unable to think up of something witty, Kakashi decided to keep it simple instead. "Hey."

"…shit."

Ah yes, simple is good.

* * *

"Sakura." 

Someone was calling her name.

"Sakura."

"Unnngggh…" she moaned. She had a splitting headache.

"Sakura, are you all right?"

"…please tell me you're not Sasuke." Sakura said, massaging her forehead with the palm of her hand to ease the ache.

"…"

"I'm just kidding Naruto." she grinned, eyes still closed. "Can you help me up?"

"…I'm afraid I can't do that." the reply came, almost a whisper.

"Huh?" Sakura slowly opened her eyes and shifted her head a little to the side. Her vision was rewarded with an embarrassed looking Naruto half buried with only his head above the ground. She desperately fought back the urge to laugh at his predicament but she supposed it showed on her face when Naruto's expression turned sour. "Haha… sorry." she stuck her tongue out a little mischievously, apologetic. "You need help?"

He nodded, and Sakura sat up and pulled out one of her kunais to dig. With her help, Naruto was soon released from his confines, leaving only behind an awkward silence between the two.

Sakura was the first to break the uneasy tension in the air and sighed. "Man… I can't believe I lost." she said, her eyes downcast.

"You have given your best."

"Obviously the best was not good enough."

"…" Naruto didn't reply. The silence returned. Then suddenly, "I'm sorry Sakura."

"Eh?"

"I…" Naruto was avoiding her curious gaze. "Attacked you."

"Um, Naruto, I'm not quite sure what you mea-"

He cut her off. "Those lions. That was my jutsu."

She was at a loss for words. "…oh."

Naruto shoved his hands in his pockets, still avoiding Sakura's eyes as he continued his explanation. "I attacked you and Kakashi thinking that Kakashi would surely try to protect you from harm… and using that opportunity I tried to steal his bells."

Sakura didn't know what to say.

"I'm sorry." Naruto turned his back towards her and started to walk away from her. "There's not much time left until lunch. I'm going."

"…why?"

He stopped.

"…why what."

"Why are you willing to go so far…?"

Sakura saw Naruto's head sag a bit, as if he was trying hard to not remember something. "…there are some things I must do." Naruto replied. It was clear that he was struggling with his words.

"**_It's not exactly a 'dream', but I have two goals. One is to finish what my father has started… and… to kill a certain woman."_**

"Is it… for your goals…?" Sakura asked, as she recalled the introduction he gave when they first gathered on the rooftop as a team.

"…" he started to walk away from her again.

"H-hey!"

As Sakura tried to chase him, Naruto slowly turned his head towards her and their eyes finally met. She stopped, unable to move from her position as his blue eyes told her everything she needed to know.

His eyes.

_They're so… so sad…_

The shrill sound of the alarm clock rang throughout the practice area just then. Sakura heard Naruto curse under his breath as he continued to walk away from her and towards the three tree stumps where they were to meet after the test was over. Sakura stood there for a moment longer before she finally collected herself and followed Naruto to their rendezvous point.

_He knows the pain of being alone… just like me…_

A foreign feeling in her heart stirred ever so silently.

* * *

The Third Hokage rubbed his shoulders a bit to ease the stiffness as he sat down in the cafeteria chair. He had been tackling paperwork for the past few hours with little progress, so he was more than relieved when his Chuunin subordinate offered to treat him lunch. 

Although he was well aware of Iruka's motives for this escapade, the Third Hokage decided to ask the question as a conversation opener. "What was it that you wanted to ask me that you'd invite me to lunch for?"

Iruka sighed as he too sat down on the chair across the table from his leader. "I'm worried about them, Hokage-sama."

So he was right. Iruka was indeed concerned about Team Seven. "You're worried?" the Hokage asked as he sipped some green tea.

"I'm curious, which Jounin instructor did you assign to Team Seven?" the Academy teacher asked, leaning slightly forward. "I know which instructors have been assigned to the other rookie teams… but with _those_ three teamed up, someone special had to be assigned and thus it was left for you to decide. I trust that you have selected someone appropriate, but…"

"Hatake Kakashi." the Hokage answered.

Iruka didn't look too pleased at the revelation. "…I see."

The Hokage put the tea back down on the table as kneaded his hands together. "I trust you know him well."

"He was my former squad captain, Hokage-sama." Iruka replied straightforwardly. "You should know that."

"…it has been three years now, hasn't it?" the Hokage noted out of the blue.

"…"

"Sorry Iruka, they must be bad memories."

"It's alright, Hokage-sama." It was a lie, the Hokage knew. The subject was taboo and he knew Iruka didn't like to be reminded of it. Still…

"Iruka, may I ask you something?"

"Yes?"

The Hokage lowered his voice down a notch. "You are a capable member of the ANBU… why did you not apprehend Mizuki the first chance you got? It would've been an easy task for a shinobi of your caliber. You had even put your life at risk."

"…"

The Third Hokage of the Hidden Leaf sighed heartedly. "I thought I told you to be a little more honest with her."

"With all due respect, Hokage-sama." Iruka spoke. "I didn't want Sakura to… see that side of me. Can we please get back to our original discussion?" he quickly attempted to change the subject.

The elderly man chuckled. "Of course."

Iruka looked relieved. "So… Kakashi-san huh. I wasn't aware he accepted genin students."

"He hasn't."

"Pardon?"

"Here." the Hokage handed Iruka a small notebook. "Here's the list of his past students and their records." he continued as he watched Iruka flip through the pages. "Kakashi's test might be a little too difficult… since children are obedient…"

"But this…" Iruka stopped flipping through the pages as he looked at his leader in the face. "These are all zeros."

The Third Hokage sipped in a little more green tea. "Yes… Kakashi has never passed anyone. They had all failed his test."

"…" Iruka put down the notebook back on the table and slowly stood up from his chair, ready to leave. He had determined this conversation over.

"Iruka." The Hokage stopped him.

"Yes?" he turned.

"Have a little faith." the Hokage smiled. "They are your students, are they not? Trust Kakashi's judgment, and whatever the result, do not hate him for it."

Iruka seemed to contemplate the thought a little before he bowed at his leader. "Of course, Hokage-sama."

* * *

Sakura's stomach was growling loudly. 

"Oh, you guys look hungry." Kakashi noted.

_Leave it up to him to state the obvious!_ Inner Sakura yelled.

Ten minutes had passed since the bell had rung, and Naruto and Sakura sat in front of the three wooden poles with boxes of lunch in front of them with strict orders not to eat them yet. She didn't know how long she could keep that up, and her mouth was starting to water ever since she noticed some dango inside the bento-box. As for Sasuke… when she first saw him tied up against the pole for breaking the rules, she didn't hold back her laughter that time. She was still giggling occasionally when she stole glances at Sasuke, whereas Sasuke was trying his best to ignore her in a vain attempt to save his dignity.

However, inside, she was dreading of what was going to come next. Kakashi was going to announce the results of the test. The purpose of the test was to steal the two bells her teacher had, and not one of them had managed to do so. Thus, it came as a total surprise when Kakashi spoke the next words. "Well, there's no need for you guys to go back to the Academy."

_Say what?_

"What, you mean…" Sakura began, and then she saw Kakashi smile brightly behind his mask. Then it dawned on her. Although they had failed to snatch away the bells, perhaps the purpose of this test was to measure their individual ability and he had acknowledged them? It seemed like Naruto and Sasuke besides her were thinking the exact same things, as they suddenly looked a lot more cheerful. Well, in their case, just a happy snicker. _Boys._ Sakura mentally rolled her eyes, and turned to her teacher hopefully. "Then, then all three of us are…!"

"Yep." Kakashi nodded. "All three of you…"

Sakura jumped up in glee. _Hell yeah!_

"_Should quit as Ninjas!"_

"Wh-" Sakura's words got stuck in her throat at the sudden turn of events. Clearing her throat once, she eventually found her voice and yelled at her teacher. "What? Quit as Ninjas? Okay, so we couldn't get the bells… but why do we have to _quit_?"

"Because all of you are punks who don't deserve to be ninjas." Kakashi said it bluntly.

Out of everyone here, she had expected herself to be the one most likely to lose control at her teacher's words, so it came as a surprise when Naruto was the one that dashed at Kakashi with the intent to kill. In a flash, Kakashi sidestepped Naruto's offensive and had him wrestled down to the ground, right foot on his head.

"Hey! Don't step on Naruto… like… that?" Sakura blushed feverously when she realized what she had just said. This time she was the one desperately trying to ignore the odd look Sasuke was giving her.

Kakashi slowly shook his head sideways. "Are you guys underestimating ninjas? Huh?" he glared at them. "Why do you think we're training as teams?"

"What do you mean?" Sasuke asked.

"Meaning… you guys haven't grasped the answer to this test yet."

"Answer?" That was Sakura.

"And I thought you were the smart one." Kakashi remarked ever so casually, successfully infuriating her. "It's the answer that lets you pass this test."

"Ahhh, damn it! What's the answer already!" Sakura was on the verge of losing her patience and was about to charge at her teacher much like Naruto had.

"It's… teamwork."

Silence.

Kakashi shook his head in disappointment. "If the three of you worked together, you may have gotten the bells."

"…h-hey, wait a second." Sakura started. "What do you mean by teamwork! There are only two bells! Even if work together and get the bells, one of us will still fail! That'll just end up in us fighting each… other…" she trailed off as she suddenly realized the true purpose of the test.

Carefully examining his pink-haired student's expressions, Kakashi nodded slowly. "Looks like you got it. This test was purposely designed to make you fight against each other. The aim was to see if you could set aside personal interests and successfully work as a team. Yet… you!" he pointed at Sakura. "Sakura, instead of helping Sasuke who was right in front of you, you were instead making fun of his predicament! And Sasuke!" he then pointed at the black-haired youth tied against the pole. "You were just running around all by yourself, trying to show off! And you, Naruto…" Kakashi growled as he pushed Naruto's face deeper into the ground with his foot. "You're the worst one of all. Not only did you assume that the others will get in your way, but you were even willing the sacrifice the lives of your teammates to accomplish your goal! Sakura was only safe because I pushed her away, which I'm sure was according to your plan… but in the real world, your enemies won't be as kind."

Kakashi paused a bit as he let truths of his speech sink into his students. "Look, missions are accomplished as a team." he continued. "Of course, superior individual ability is important for a ninja, and I admit, all three of you are well above average. But what's even more important is teamwork. Individual play that disrupts the team can put your comrades in danger – and can even get you killed. For example…" Kakashi's hand reached into the weapons holster behind and pulled out a kunai and placed it in front of Naruto's neck. "Sakura! Kill Sasuke or Naruto dies!"

Despite Inner Sakura urging Sakura to take up on the offer, she was trying her best to ignore that voice. Sasuke had a look of pure horror etched on his face since he knew Sakura disliked him, but to their relief Kakashi soon released his hold on Naruto as he slowly stood up and walked away from them. "You see? Not only are hostages taken, but you are also forced to make impossible choices only to end up dead. For a ninja, missions are all life-risking jobs." he came to a stop in front of a monument made out of stone. "Look at this. These many names carved in this stone. The names of ninjas who are recognized as the heroes of the village."

This perked Sakura's interest. "Really? Heroes? That's what I'll be! I'll get my name carved on that stone someday too! That's what I'll become! A hero!"

"Sakura…" Naruto spoke for the first time. "Don't."

She narrowed her eyes in frustration. "What, Naruto. Are you telling me that I can't be a hero?"

"Those aren't just normal heroes." Naruto explained and looked at the monument with sad eyes. "They are the names of people who died while on duty."

Sakura's cheerful mood suddenly pummeled into the ground as she realized what she had just said. Naruto's reaction, and those sad eyes… _He… _"…N-Naruto, I'm sorr-" she trailed off. _Dammit, I'm such an idiot! Such an idiot!_

Kakashi resumed his speech. "When you live your life as a Ninja… you will lose many things. Even people. People who you've laughed with, people who you've cried with, even people who you've… considered as your precious. This monument… is a memorial for them." Kakashi half-turned and stared at his students with a serious eye. "You three… I'll give you one more chance. But after lunch I'll make it even tougher to get the bells. Those who still wish to challenge can eat lunch. However! Don't give any to Sasuke."

"Wh-what?" Sasuke exclaimed in protest.

"It's punishment for trying to eat by yourself." Kakashi answered and Sasuke's head drooped in shame. "If anyone gives him any food, I will fail them immediately. Here, I am the rules, got it?" and with that, he disappeared.

An uneasy silence befell the three. Naruto and Sakura looked at each other, then at Sasuke, then finally at the two lunchboxes in front of them.

It was Sasuke that spoke first. "Bah, don't worry about me. Go ahead and eat, I'm not that hungr-" his stomached growled just then, contradicting his earlier words.

Sakura and Naruto snickered at his words as they both sat down and started to open their respective lunchboxes. Sakura stared at the contents for a moment. It was a basic bento-box, with rice, vegetables, and a side dish of dango. She immediately grabbed the sweets and gulped them down hungrily, and noticed Sasuke looking at her enviously. She couldn't take it any longer. "AAAAAH! Fine, fine! Here, have some food you bastard!" she shoved her lunchbox right in front of his face.

"But Sakura-san…" he began.

"Don't call me that!" she screeched. "Just hurry up and take it before he comes back!"

"Have some of mine too." an unexpected voice offered. It was Naruto, as he too, handed over his half-finished lunchbox to Sasuke. "I don't sense his presence anywhere near here. After lunch… we'll work together and get the bells. Otherwise, you'll be in our way."

"Exactly." Sakura huffed at Sasuke. "Now don't act macho and just eat it."

"I'd love to Sakura-san, but…"

"I just told you to not call me that." she growled at him threateningly.

"Ah, sorry, sorry. Sakura. But my hands…" Sakura looked at the ropes that tied Sasuke. His hands were bound too. That meant…

"Oh bloody hell. I have to feed you?"

"That would be lovely." Sasuke smiled sweetly.

"Shut up and just open your mouth wide before I change my mind." Sakura took Naruto's lunchbox and scooped up a handful of rice with chopsticks. She was disgusted at the idea of having to spoon-feed this womanizer – she was sure he was enjoying this moment – but she had no choice. As soon as he took a bite, a large shadow loomed over the three of them.

"What. Do. You. Think. You're. Doing?"

"AHHHHH! Ka-Kakashi sensei!"

"Congratulations! You three pass!"

That day, the Village of the Hidden Leaf initiated three new teams and nine new genin ninjas into their ranks.

_Hell yeah! _A certain pink-haired girl's inner persona screamed in joy.

* * *

Hatake Kakashi, after explaining the basic know-how of ninjas and upcoming mission details to his new subordinates, he had dismissed them and saw them off. Yet, he was still here inside Hidden Leaf's Practice Arena #3, staring at the monument stone a little while longer. 

"You can come out now." Kakashi called out.

A clapping sound. "That speech, it was so touching Kakashi-taichou."

"…don't call me that. You've only been in the squad for a week, and that was three years ago." Kakashi slowly turned to face the figure that was standing behind him. "Sai."

The smiling, youthful boy wearing a short and tight black t-shirt that exposed his bellybutton shrugged in a wide arc. "Yes sir, Kakashi-senpai. When did you notice my presence?"

"Don't fool around with me, you weren't even trying to hide your presence at all. I noticed you straight away when you gave Naruto the _Giga_ scroll. It wasn't in his pack when he first came to the Arena."

Sai whistled, as if he were impressed. "I didn't expect any less of you, Kakashi-senpai."

Kakashi was annoyed, but he wasn't going to let this kid taste the satisfaction by showing it. "Cut the crap… why are you here."

"I just wanted to give the _Giga_ _no Maki_ to the unappreciative brat who left it behind in his house."

Kakashi glared at him.

"…and to pay my respects to our fallen comrades in 'Ne'."

Kakashi continued to glare.

"…and Obito-san wanted to meet you in the usual Izakaya tonight. He told me Gai-san is coming too." Sai finished, chuckled slightly. "The gathering of Konoha's Three Stooges, right senpai?"

Kakashi sighed, ignoring that horrid nickname that had been crowned for the three of them. "What does Obito want?"

"You've known Obito-san longer than I have, senpai. You tell me. In fact, if I recall correctly, you two were childhood friends."

"Surely Obito wouldn't have sent you just to tell me that."

Sai's expressionless face seemed to flicker for a brief moment. "…it's probably about Itachi-san."

Kakashi understood immediately.

"Today is… the anniversary, after all. I wasn't lying when I said I came by to pay my respects to our fallen comrades, senpai." Sai continued. "And you know how Obito-san is, trying to cheer up everyone around him… so…"

"You and Iruka coming too?" Kakashi asked.

"Unfortunately no, I have been assigned a solo mission that I have to attend to in two hours, and Iruka-san has to take care of some paperwork in the office. Leading a dual-life of ANBU and an Academy Teacher must be so busy." Sai remarked.

"…you're still not assigned a ANBU squad?"

Sai smiled and slowly he shook his head sideways. "Senpai, 'Ne' was the only squad that was right for me. Although my time in there was short, I'll never forget it. You're the only taichou that I'll ever respect. The only exception may be Itachi-san, but you know me, I don't like getting tied down." he winked.

"…tell Obito I'll be there."

"Understood. I should be going now. Have fun senpai! It's not everyday you get to see a drunk Itachi-san!" Sai giggled, and in a flash he was out of Kakashi's sight.

"…Itachi drunk. Now that is something I would like to see." Kakashi whispered quietly to himself, as he too, laughed a little.

* * *

_**It was something I realized later, but…**_

**_When I handed that scroll to Naruto-kun, I forgot to refill it with ink._**

_**- Sai**_

-

_**Tainted Demon Eyes**_

_**- Chapter Five -**_

"**_Robert McNamara'd into Submission"_**

_**-END-**_

**_

* * *

Author's Notes: _**

After writing this chapter, I have come to a certain conclusion concerning my writing skills. And that is… that I am bad at writing action scenes. They end up too short. Which is actually something that worries me, as the plotline of "Naruto" involves lots and lots of fighting. I am, however, quite satisfied with what I came up with in this chapter. It's (almost) original (the fighting, I mean). But Sasuke's fight in this chapter… oh man, his fans will kill me. I'm not satisfied with it myself, but I couldn't think up of anything for him. Sigh. Just to clarify, I'm not bashing him on purpose. Really. Think of it as… er, comedy for the story. Someone's gotta take the hit. Like I said in the last chapter's Author's Notes, he will have his moments. I mean, in the actual story Naruto has that role, right? Something like that.

It also occurred to me that my chapters are getting shorter and shorter every update, so I made this chapter slightly longer than the previous one. I originally had planned to stick in an extra scene in here of Obito and Gai being very drunk, a quiet Itachi drinking to himself in the corner and Kakashi getting a splitting headache in the process of trying to control Obito and Gai gone wild – but that was scrapped since Sai and Kakashi's conversation alone was enough for the purpose of plot. I'm satisfied with how this chapter ended as it adds to the suspense. Of course, this means that I had to scrap a scene where Obito could be introduced to the readers… I'll have to think up of something different now. Or perhaps I'll stick the scene in somewhere in the future chapters.

And yes, Obito is alive and well (character number two to appear early in fic, along with Gai as number three). And yes, I'm aware that this means there is a potential plothole concerning Kakashi's left eye. I have, however, finished planning all the characters and their relationships in this AU universe as I was typing this chapter, so the issue will be addressed. Eventually.

What else… umm… not much. I think I used a bit too many Japanese words in this chapter, but that's what the translations are for. I hope I got all of them. And I think I'll just scrap the review reply section, since I can just do it just as well in this section anyway.

Reviews, comments, criticism, always welcome!

- Nes Mikel

_**

* * *

Japanese Word Translations in Chapter Five (in order of appearance): **_

**_katana _**– japanese-style swords

**_chakra _**– one of the seven centers of spiritual energy in the human body according to yoga philosophy. This is in real life, by the way. In "Naruto" they are the necessary spiritual energy you need to perform ninjutsu, genjutsu (illusion techniques), certain forms of taijutsu (physical combat techniques), and blood-limit techniques (inheritance techniques).

**_sharingan_** – literal translation: "copy wheel eye". In "Naruto", Sharingan are special bloodline limit abilities that can be used by members of the Uchiha Clan.

**_anbu_** – literal translation: "dark squad". In "Naruto" these are elite ninja squads that accomplish the most dangerous missions such as assassinations.

**_aniki _**– means "older brother". Used among siblings to call their older brothers.

**_sensei _**– teacher

**_ninja _**– a member of a class of 14th-century Japanese mercenary agents who were trained in the martial arts and hired for covert operations such as assassination and sabotage. Note that the ninja's in this fic is not based off real life, but based off the ninja's in "Naruto"

**_bunshin no jutsu _**– replication (clone) technique. Creates clones. They're illusions, however, so the clones can't perform any physical action. Disappears when hit. Distraction technique.

**_kawarimi no jutsu_** – replacement technique. Instantly switches yourself with another object. Distraction technique.

**_jutsu _**– technique

**_kunai _**– small, metallic daggers used by ninjas. Mostly used as throwing weapons, but unlike shuriken it could also be used as melee weapons.

**_jounin_** – expert-class ninjas on the ninja hierarchy

**_kawarimi _**– replacement

**_senbon_** – literal translation: "thousand needles". Thin needles with sharp ends used as throwing weapons or acupuncture.

**_genjutsu _**– literal translation is "illusion technique". In "Naruto", these are the techniques used by ninjas that require the use of chakra that does mental damage or to distract and/or confuse the enemy.

**_kage bunshin no jutsu _**– literal translation is "shadow replication (clone) technique". Much like Bunshin no Jutsu, they create clones. However, in this jutsu, the clones you create aren't illusions, but are real physical bodies. Disappears when hit.

**_kuukan wakyoku no jutsu – _**literal translation is "space distortion technique". An original technique created for this fanfic. Distorts the space around the user by creating invisible pseudo mirrors out of water vapor confusing the senses of the enemies around the user.

**_senbon giga –_** literal translation: "thousand needle counterfeit art". An original technique created for this fanfic, but is based off a real one. Draw a bunch of lines on a scroll and make the drawings come to life to turn them into a senbon that can be used as weapons.

**_bunshin _**– clone

_**giga no maki** – _literal translation: "scroll of counterfeit art". Scroll used for the _Giga_ series techniques.

**_ninpou _**– ninja technique

**_chouju giga_** – literal translation: "super beast counterfeit art." Draw a bunch of animals (usually lions) on a scroll and make the drawings come to life to turn them into a beasts that pound on the enemy.

**_kai_** – dispel

**_shuriken _**– a small, star-shaped, quadruple-bladed throwing weapon used by ninjas. However, shuriken's shape and size can vary widely. The example I gave in this explanation is just the most common form of shrunken.

**_kage bunshin – _**shadow clone

**_kage bunshin: shuriken no mai_** – literal translation: "shadow clone: dance of the throwing stars". An original technique created for this fanfic, but is based off a real one. Create shadow clones and have all of them throw shurikens in all directions, showering the enemy with it.

**_giga_** – counterfeit art

**_chuunin _**– intermediate-class ninjas on the ninja hierarchy.

**_genin _**– novice-class ninjas on the ninja hierarchy.

**_henge no jutsu _**– transformation (metamorphosis) technique. Transforms your appearance into something or someone of your choice.

**_doton_** – literal translation: "earth element"

**_shinjuu zanshu no jutsu – _**literal translation: "inner decapitation technique". User hides underneath the target's ground and drags the target down into the earth, leaving only the head above the ground.

**_ninjutsu _**– literal translation is "ninja technique". In "Naruto", these are the techniques used by ninjas that require the use of chakra that does physical damage.

**_hokage _**– literal translation is "shadow of fire". Title given to the leaders of the Hidden Leaf.

**_sama _**– attached after a name, could mean "lord" or "master". Either work.

**_dango _**– a traditional Japanese sweet/snack. Packed full of stuff called 'anko', which I'm not exactly sure what it's made out of.

**_bento-box_** – lunchbox

**_taichou – _**captain

**_senpai – _**term used to call your senior in the same field

**_ne_** – literal translation is "root". In "Naruto", this is a name of an actual ANBU squad.

_**san **– _attached after a name, it is a way of calling people out of respect. It could mean "Mr", "Miss" or "Mrs".

**_izakaya_** – japanese-style bar that typically serves sake (traditional Japanese alcoholic beverage)

**_kun _**– attached after a name, basically it's used to call someone who is younger than you or about the same age. What makes it confusing is that it's used in some other situations that is rather hard to explain.


	6. Keep the Customer Satisfied

"**_Tainted Demon Eyes"_**

_By Nes Mikel_

_Acknowledgment;_

_I herby acknowledge that the work of fiction presented here is for my own personal amusement and entertainment purposes alone. Most of the story, characters, place names and other etc stuff in this fiction are copyright Naruto, Kishimoto Masashi, Weekly Shounen Jump, and any others I might have forgot. Enjoy._

_**

* * *

**_

- Chapter Six -

"**_Keep the Customer Satisfied"_**

"_Are you really a Ninja?" – Tazuna

* * *

_

"This is all your fault."

Those were the first words Uchiha Obito heard when he opened his eyes, but as soon as the rays of light assaulted his irises he quickly squeezed his eyelids shut again. The light, although rather dim thanks to the dark red curtains drawn across the windows, was still too bright for his liking. It was one of the two after-effects of alcohol that he didn't practically grow fond of over the years. The other after-effect came to him soon enough, when suddenly the insides of his head registered a pain similar to a giant metal sledgehammer smacking his head. A headache. A bad one to boot. Looks like he had a damn fine time yesterday if he had this much of a hangover.

Too bad he couldn't remember much of it. Oh well, the memories will soon come, although most likely it will come in fragments and will remain cloudy throughout. But right now, he had to do something about this headache. Rather reluctantly, he opened his dry mouth and gurgled out the next few words. "Pazz me ze boddle… Gagashi…"

Something cool smacked against his chin. Obito managed a weak smirk at the response the other gave and struggled meekly to move his left arm to grab the small bottle that was thrown at him. He failed miserably, and only succeeded in making his arm fall down limp from the side of the bed. His fingers brushed the cold wooden tiles of the floor.

"Gah…"

"I already talked to your Uncle. He says you can have today off." The other spoke up rather suddenly. It was so like him.

"Thangs…" he managed. Obito tried to open his eyelids just a crack. This time it didn't hurt as much and he managed to keep it open for a good three seconds before his brain decided that taking comfort in the darkness was better.

Obito couldn't see it, but he was sure the other was shaking his head sideways at the miserable sight before him. "To think that this man before me is the Deputy Chief of the Hidden Leaf's Police Force… and right now he's so hung over I had to make excuses to his boss, the Chief of Police, just so he doesn't have to go to work today."

_Heh, he just had to mention my title didn't he? _

"Oh shaddap." Obito replied dryly. He was starting to have better control with his voice now. Slowly, senses were starting to return to his body. He quickly confirmed it by wiggling his fingers a bit. "Uncle knows about… my habits."

"Obito."

Obito didn't miss how the tone of the other man's voice had changed drastically. Instead of the usual mocking tone he was accustomed to, it changed into something much colder, something Obito didn't like. It was something Obito wasn't comfortable with. But this man was his friend. Might as well.

"What?"

"You should stop drinking. Itachi was just an excuse, wasn't it?"

_Oh great, not this again._

By this time his left arm regained functionality and he weakly grabbed the small bottle that was leaning against his messy hair. Twisting the top open, he tilted his neck slightly to the side to expose the mouth that had been kissing the mattress and poured the contents of the bottle into his mouth. The cool liquid traveled down his throat, and the pain in his head started to recede thanks to the medicine. Obito then finally opened his eyes and stared at the friend that had dragged him back to his apartment after the wild party yesterday eye to eye.

"Kakashi… we've had this conversation a zillion times."

The eyebrows of the masked man narrowed a little in a frown. He saw Kakashi lean back a little in the chair he was sitting in not too far away from his bed. "It wasn't your fault." he said.

Obito grudgingly sat up from the mattress as he rose from his slumber, and nodded once. "I know." he repeated the same reply. The reply he always gave when he had this conversation with his best friend. Then, "It wasn't your fault either."

"…"

The usual silence.

He decided to try something a little different. "You know, it's funny." Obito continued, forcing a weak smile. "We're feeling guilty about the same thing… and yet, you tell me to just forget it and move on? Come on Kakashi, you know damn well that I'm not going to let you carry the burden of guilt all by yourself. Besides!" he clapped his hands together for emphasis. "She's still alive. She's just sleeping, only sleeping." he finished cheerfully, as if to convince himself it was true. It was, somewhat, but one didn't have to be a doctor to know that being comatose and being asleep were two different things.

"She may as well be dead." Kakashi said it bitterly. "The village…"

Kakashi never finished his sentence. Obito reacted instantly, and a hard punch to the chin knocked Kakashi all the way back to the wall of the room. A few pieces of china fell to the floor and shattered into pieces due to the impact Kakashi made when his back hit the wall, but Obito could care less about that right now. Obito's eyes certainly registered none of that as two furious Red Sharingan eyes flared into view. "Bastard! Don't you ever speak of her like that! And you know damn well you don't believe what you were about to say too!"

Kakashi wiped the small trickle of blood that flowed from his mouth with his hand. Ever the cool man, his expression was unreadable, but Obito knew better. It was easy to miss for the ordinary man, but Obito certainly was not ordinary. He clearly had seen the brief pang of pain in Kakashi's visible eye. Shaking his head, Obito flopped back onto his bed and uncaringly stared at the ceiling. "Goddamn stubborn bastard." he muttered.

"…sorry about the china." He heard his friend say across the room.

"Yeah yeah." Obito rolled over to the side, his back facing Kakashi. He heard the sounds of the other man slowly getting up from the floor and walking over to the door of his apartment. He was going to leave.

"I'll leave your keys by the counter here." Obito heard him say. "I'll be going now."

"Wait." he called out, stopping Kakashi.

"What, Obito?"

"You're going to the hospital right? Say hi to neechan for me."

"…will do." he barely heard him as he heard the door shut, leaving him alone in his apartment with his thoughts. For a while, all was quiet, but soon Obito started to laugh at himself when he was sure Kakashi was out of earshot.

"Hah. That show-off. I wonder what his students will think of him when I tell them the real reason why that guy is always late?" he shifted his head over to the side to see a small picture frame that stood atop the wooden cupboard. Inside the frame was a picture, taken over fourteen years ago just before that fated mission to Kanabi Bridge. His Genin team.

A boy with goggles with a piece of grass sticking out of his mouth. Himself. The one who was called the shame of the Uchiha Clan, who now had risen to one of the most important positions in the Village of the Hidden Leaf.

Uchiha Obito.

A masked boy who stared at the camera looking totally bored. His best friend and rival. The son of the famous White Fang, and the annoying bastard that always cared about rules and regulations. How ironic Obito himself was in the position to enforce that very thing right now. They had bickered over so much about that back then.

Hatake Kakashi.

A smiling man with bright yellow hair who held the heads of the two boys with the palm of his hand in a caring manner. His sensei. A man who later became the Fourth Hokage of the Hidden Leaf, and the hero that saved the village twelve years ago. He was the best teacher and commander Obito had ever had the privilege of serving under.

Kazama Arashi.

A giggling girl who held both or her hands up in a peace sign between the two boys. His older sister. She was the guilt he and Kakashi shared. They were unable to protect her, unable to save her, unable to stop her. She was the one responsible for unleashing the Nine-tailed Demon Fox, the Kyuubi no Youko, upon the Village of the Hidden Leaf that ominous night twelve years ago.

Uchiha Rin.

_Maybe having a headache was better._ Obito silently mused.

* * *

Someone once said to him, that the first mission was always the hardest and the most memorable. It was an experience that all shinobi would carve deep into their hearts, so they will remember who they are, and what their purpose was in this village. The first mission was the day when they were reminded of themselves of their devotion to their destined profession, so they could serve and protect the village they swore their allegiance to.

Naruto silently vowed within to later strangle the person who said that.

Sai had obviously exaggerated in his often-artistic reviews of his past missions that he had the clearance to tell. Heck, even his Jounin teacher had said it himself: for a ninja, missions are all life-risking jobs. Their words had worked Naruto up so much that he was nervous for nothing.

When, for the first time, his team had walked up to the mission counter where the Hokage was seated to receive their first ever mission scrolls, he had to struggle fiercely in his mind to keep his excitement down to protect his cool exterior mask. He noticed that his other two Genin teammates were tingling with anticipation too, although at the very least Sasuke made the effort to conceal the enthusiasm like all ninjas should. His other and only female teammate made no such attempt.

All of that built-up tension was in vain, when they learned that their supposedly to-be memorable first mission revealed it to be mowing and weeding the lawn for some lady down by the nearby farmlands.

Naruto had to remind himself that it was only logical, of course. After all, they were still Genin, just fresh out of the Academy knowing nothing about how exactly the world they stepped into worked and how cruel and punishing it could be. Not to mention, no previous battle experience. It was only fitting that their team was assigned errand duties for their first mission. It was something that was safe, something familiar and easy to do, and still worked up a decent pay.

Still, Naruto couldn't help himself but think that this was something a ninja shouldn't be doing. Sakura obviously had addressed that issue in a very loud fashion and had complained to no end – in fact she was still grumbling her displeasure of this mission as he saw her push a wheelbarrow full of freshly cut grass to the pile not too far away – and Naruto had silently agreed with her. But he supposed that all ninjas had to start somewhere. They all had to start at the bottom in order for them to work their way towards the top. It was only a matter of time.

"Hey, you."

He was so distracted with his thoughts that he didn't notice the elderly lady that was his client standing besides him until she spoke. He turned slowly and Naruto gave his best fake smile, something that he had picked up from reading Sai's books about emotions.

"Ah, lady. We almost got all the weeds in this area." he replied, tilting his head slightly to the side indicating the large pile of grass nearby. "Just give us a few more minutes and we will be…" he stopped mid-sentence when he noticed that the woman's large frame was shaking. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"Those… weren't weeds."

Naruto blinked once in confusion. "Eh?"

He realized only too late that the woman standing in front of him had been shaking in anger. "Those were… the herbs I was growing in my garden!"

For Naruto, it had turned out that his first mission was indeed, one of the hardest and certainly one of the most memorable. He was going to have those dark bruises on his face for days to come.

* * *

The blonde girl sighed in utter annoyance for what seemed like the… like what? She had lost track of the count somewhere back in the thirties. Not really caring, she bent down and dipped the metal clippers she was holding into the flowing water and pulled out an empty soda-can. Ino tossed the can over her shoulder and into the basket she was carrying behind her back and sighed in defeat yet again.

She didn't mind at how easy her first mission was. In fact, it was rather pleasant (if one didn't count that the mission involved getting wet) and the surrounding natural forest scenery was pleasing to the eye (if one didn't count the idiotic amounts of garbage that littered the river floor and the immediate area), and… _Who am I trying to kid, myself? Get a grip, Ino._ she slapped herself mentally. _Face reality._

Deep down, though, Ino really didn't want to face the harsh reality that was, well, reality. If she could, she wanted to just dump everything she had and just flee to the comforts of her boyfriend. If he didn't push her away again, that is, which he most likely will since he was probably on his first mission too. But behind the excuses, she had a sinking feeling that Sasuke was slowly drifting away from her. She growled inwardly at the thought, her teeth clenching. _DAMN that forehead girl! She's probably seducing Sasuke-kun! WHY did you put me in this forsaken team, stupid Iruka-sensei!_

The team was everything she wished not to be. If there was anyone whom she didn't want to get teamed-up with, they were her 'former' friends from her childhood years: Chouji, and Shikamaru. It wasn't a lie if one said they all knew each other since they were babies. All three of their fathers were former Genin teammates, and their friendship had extended into their adulthood and had even been best men at each other's weddings. It was only normal for their father's children to be brought up together, their fathers wishing to carry on the famous Ino-Shika-Cho trio.

Looking back at it now, it was a source of major embarrassment for Ino. In a way, perhaps she was secretly thankful that her father's dream wasn't fulfilled in that the trio didn't carry over to the next generation – she could imagine hearing the teases from other girls to no end if it did come true. The problem was, though, that it did come true partially: Chouji was in her team. And of her two childhood friends, it was Chouji she wished not to be partnered with the most. Shikamaru, although utterly lazy and ultimately annoying, would actually be considerate enough to get out of her face lest he get himself involved, and thus was tolerable. Chouji, on the other hand, had a habit of stuffing his face with food, something that was incomprehensible to someone like her who constantly had to watch her weight in order to maintain her beautiful form. She had to admit he was caring and kind, but perhaps too kind as he had a habit of getting himself too involved in other people's problems. She certainly did_ not _need any of that right now.

Her sensei was no better. Her first impression of him was that of a heavy smoker, brash, and wild from the outward appearance he presented himself with when he first stepped foot inside the classroom. Her displeasure progressed when Ino's guesses had indeed turned out to be right. She was slightly impressed when she later learned that Asuma hailed from the same Saurtobi clan that the Third Hokage belonged to, but her disrespect for him didn't change in the slightest. Indeed, it wasn't really helping when she disgustingly stared at the teacher relaxing atop the tree branches smoking a cigarette lifting not a finger to help his students clean up the mess in the river. Clutching her bangs to ease the rapidly growing headache, she sighed again as she bends down to pick up another old soda-can that had been thrown in this otherwise beautiful creek.

Then, the unthinkable happened.

Ino, the beautiful princess-kunoichi of the glorious Yamanaka family (self-declared) had _slipped_. She fell into the water with an excessively louder-than-she-wanted splash. Ino struggled fiercely in the water to regain her footing, but the current was stronger than expected. The reason for that became clear soon enough when she heard the rapidly approaching sounds of falling water. She was destined towards a freefall from a waterfall! She was shot out from the water too soon for her comfort and was exposed helplessly in midair, and started to scream as she descended downwards. She squeezed her eyes shut, not wanting to see the impact she would make when her fragile body smashed against the harsh stones splattering her in a mass gore down below.

_How can I be so stupid! _her thoughts screamed. _Why did it have to end like this! What did I do to deserve this? _She was even beginning to see images of her short life flashing before her eyes. The dread and despair hit her full throttle. _I'm going to die! I don't want to die! No! No! NO!_

The impact never came. She felt a thin piece of wire wrap around her waist, and jerked her up harshly as it halted her sudden fall. She slowly opened her eyes to see what had happened. She was suspended in mid-air by wire, the falls just behind her. Ino heard a sound above, and looked up to see her savior.

"Don't worry Ino-san! I told you I'd protect you even if I'd die!" the boy clad in a simple brown _gi_ dangling above her from the wire said as he smiled a toothy grin, the protector tired around his forehead reflecting back light a little too brightly as if to enhance his cheerfulness.

Ino didn't know which was worse. Narrowly escaping death in her first ever mission that was meant to be easy, or to be saved from her death by the thick eyebrow boy with zero fashion sense. Rock Lee, teammate of Yamanaka Ino and Akimichi Chouji. Together, under Sarutobi Asuma as their instructor, were Team Eight.

* * *

She was glaring daggers at the boy besides him.

Again.

"Neji, I told you, I am perfectly capable."

"Hinata-sama, it's just…"

She interrupted him. "Like I said, I am _perfectly_ capable. I don't need your concern."

"You know I cannot do that, Hinata-sama." Neji solemnly replied. "It is my duty."

At first, he was standing besides Neji, but he slowly had retreated back as he now stood off to the side, watching the two argue back and forth. Nara Shikamaru, teammate of Hyuuga Hinata and Hyuuga Neji. Together, under Yuuhi Kurenai as their instructor, were Team Ten. And currently Shikamaru was in the middle of yet another argument between his other two teammates. It was for such a ridiculous reason too, and if it weren't for the fact that they looked as if they'd erupt into another fistfight anytime soon, it could almost be humorous.

Shikamaru knew that these two would be nothing but bothersome the minute he saw those two glaring at each other when Iruka-sensei announced the teams. Just what were those administrators in the Ninja Academy smoking that made them think that paring up two cousins of the same clan who obviously hated each other's guts in the same Genin team was a good idea? Did they honestly think that their relationships would improve? And they just had to involve him in this mess, didn't they. He was hopelessly caught in the middle.

_Any time now… _he thought to himself.

"Shikamaru." Hinata turned to him.

_Right on cue._

Back at the Academy, Hinata had a different impression on him: a timid and polite girl, and someone who gave her best despite her not-so impressive natural talents. She ddn't always perform very well, but she seemed nice enough. But boy, do things change once you actually get to know them on a more personal level.

She was no longer the same kind of girl he knew at back at the Academy. She had this side of being quite open and direct with people she knew, and especially brash towards her cousin, Neji. For reasons unknown to him, Hinata hated Neji, (not that he wanted to know, he assumed it was some clan business, and those things were usually quite nasty) and ever since they were teamed up for good she constantly pushed him away and attempts to do all the work all by herself as if to prove something.

The problems start there. For some incomprehensible reason, Neji acts as if he is a personal servant or guardian or some sorts for Hinata. He is so overprotective of her, so instead he pushes her away and tries to do all the work by himself, just so Hinata doesn't have to. Shikamaru would've loved having someone that willingly did all the troublesome work for him, but Hinata had obviously thought otherwise and instead it infuriated her. Which, in turn, infuriated Neji because he feels that her attempts are unnecessary since he can do them for her.

It was an endless cycle of trying to up one another.

It could've helped the relationship, Shikamaru supposed, if they were actually more on even terms, but even the lazy Shikamaru could see that Neji was very talented as a Ninja. He was even a year older than them. He later learned that he had actually stayed back a year in the Academy so he could end up in the same class as Hinata. Talk about dedication.

In the end, Hinata had not once succeeded in upping Neji when it came to accomplishments.

That didn't stop her from trying, though.

"Shikamaru?"

He snapped up from his thoughts and turned to his white-eyed female teammate. "Yes, Hinata…?" he said, almost yawning.

"Please make Neji listen to me." she was trying to drag him in the argument now to gain support for her cause. It was always like this, for both of them.

Shikamaru glanced at Neji standing not too far away from Hinata who had opened his mouth probably to start a protest, but at the last moment he had wisely decided to stay quiet and not retort at her words. Shikamaru opted to shrug. "You're asking the impossible…"

This time Neji broke the silence. "It is unreasonable for her to walk such a large dog." he argued.

It was ridiculous. These two cousins was arguing and bickering like some old couple over something trivial like who would get to walk the largest of the three dogs! And this was Team Ten's actual first and current mission assigned from the village. Shikamaru was certainly _not_ looking forward to the other missions they would get assigned to if this sort of thing continued regularly. He just wanted to curl up into a fetal position right there in front of them and moan at the unfortunate predicament he was in.

The three of them turned at a clapping sound calling for their attention from their Jounin instructor. "Now, now, don't be like that." she said. "Let's end this. I will decide who gets to walk the largest dog."

Shikamaru was thankful for his teacher's interference, but he was suddenly overcome with a bad feeling. When he was first introduced to his Jounin instructor, it was actually a surprise because he knew her well. Kurenai and Shikamaru's mother were childhood friends, and she had visited his house a quite a number of times. When he told his mother about whom his teacher was, she had actually jumped up in joy, a very rare site for someone strict as her. She was giggling to herself like a schoolgirl, and Shikamaru was horrified when he overheard his mother muttering to herself to ask her friend to take _good_ care of her boy.

Just how much more troublesome could this team get?

"But Kurenai-sensei…" Hinata tried to protest.

"No, Hinata. The largest dog is quite a strong breed, and one of the paths we're assigned from the client passes by one of the training fields filled with land mines. What if he suddenly decides the fields are suddenly more interesting and you get dragged along with it?"

Shikamaru knew where this was going already.

"So," Kurenai tuned to him. "Shikamaru, I'll entrust you to the largest dog. You have means of restraining the dog should it decide to run off."

_I knew it._

"How troublesome…"

* * *

A few days had passed.

The eyebrows of the Chuunin rose from surprise at the masked man in front of him. "Didn't expect you back so soon."

Sai slowly pushed away his Rat-faced ANBU mask to reveal the left side of his static smiling face. "You should know better to underestimate me, Izumo-san." he said, glancing back and forth at the two Chuunin guards posted in front of the large gates of the Hidden Leaf. "Guard duty again? You two must really suck."

"Why you…" The other guard, Kotetsu, balled his hands into a fist, but didn't charge at him. He knew his place. Although Sai was only fifteen, nine years younger than Kotetsu and his partner Izumo, he was quite the talented individual, having made ANBU three years earlier upon his promotion as Chuunin. Although they were technically of the same rank, actions proved louder than the words. The reality was in front of them, after all. Sai had just come back from an ANBU A-class assassination solo mission, and these two were posted as gate guards for the umpteenth time. Sai could beat these two down into the ground without having to break a sweat.

Kotetsu had instead decided to mope and glared off to nowhere in particular. "What are you loitering around here for, then? Go report to Hokage-sama."

"I intend to, Kotetsu-san." he replied in an attempted cheerful tone. To his glee he saw Kotetsu's knuckles slowly turning white in anger. Perhaps he's teased them enough already. Sai crouched down low and leapt across the giant massive gates in a single bound leaving the two behind to their duties. After jumping across a few more household roofs in the village, he had arrived at his destination so quickly that he slightly regretted that he had to cut his teasing of his two Chuunin comrades so short. But when he saw Iruka through the windows of the office posted at the mission desk next to the Hokage he quickly changed his mind. He had a new target. Tugging on his standard-issue ANBU uniform to quell a slight discomfort, he calmly strolled towards the window. He knocked on it once for attention and slid it open, successfully drawing distasteful glances from everyone sitting at the mission counter save the Hokage.

"Sai…" he heard Iruka start, but the Hokage put a comforting hand on the young Academy Teacher's shoulder.

"It's okay Iruka." he told his subordinate, and then turned his attention to him. "You're back early."

Sai quickly removed his ANBU mask still hanging loose from his face and tucked it behind his tool pouch as he climbed through the window. He then kneeled down in front of his leader in a respectful gesture. "Mission Accomplished, Hokage-sama."

The elderly man chuckled at this. "I wish you could be better mannered like this more often, Sai-kun."

He grinned in response, but didn't reply. He stood up and walked around the long desk so he was properly in front of them. Thankfully there were no other guests or customers in the briefing room, although Sai did detect a presence or two in the nearby waiting room. Not really that curious to see who they were, he snapped to attention as he begun his mission debriefing. "I managed to lure the target into a nearby inn, got him into the same room, and killed him in his sleep undetected. There were a few pursuers but nothing I couldn't handle. It really should've been classified as a B-rank mission, Hokage-sama. Quite easy."

His leader raised an eyebrow at this. He calmly reached for his pipe and puffed in a little. "He was an corrupt but important official in the Fire Country politics." the Third Hokage said. "I had expected you to take a few more days to infiltrate his inner-circle."

"Oh, that part was simple." Sai shrugged. "He was gay, so I seduced him by posing as a male prostitute." he replied casually, as if it were something totally natural.

That got them. He smiled callously as the Hokage almost choked on his pipe at his words. Iruka glared at him distastefully, but didn't comment. After all, Sai was told to use any means necessary to eliminate his target.

After coughing some more to get some misplaced smoke out of his lungs, the Hokage looked at him awkwardly. "We were not… aware of that information."

Sai nodded once at this. "After he bought me for a few thousand ryo, he took me to his favorite inn where he must take his toys of the night for his dirty little fantasies. His bodyguards must've known of his 'habit', since there was only one guard posted with him during the excursion while there were like six or seven around him at all times under normal circumstances. How careless. Quite the charming man, though, and really direct too, pressing me for a deep kiss just when we reached the room, moaning like a sex-crazed maniac. Why, he even began to undress me at the door, and by the time we reached the bed I was almost stark nake-"

"That is enough!" Iruka suddenly rose from his seat and slammed his hands down at the table, interrupting him. Sai noted happily that the young teacher's face was beet red like a tomato. How naïve. And cute. "You don't have to go into such details for your debriefing!"

He tried to look disappointed. "Aww, but Iruka-senpai, I was just about to get into the juicy details…"

The Hokage coughed once, signaling for their attention. "Iruka is right, Sai-kun. There is no need. What matters is that you have completed your mission, and you have come back safely. Good work."

He overheard Iruka grumbling something under his breath as he reluctantly sat back down, but he paid little attention to him as Sai beamed at his leader's words. "As you wish. Is there anything else you want to ask of me, Hokage-sama?"

"There are no scheduled missions for you at the moment. Take three days off; we will notify you with usual means when something comes up. Also…" the Third Hokage seemed to contemplate the thought for a moment. "There is one thing. How is Naruto?"

"A stubborn idiot, as usual." Sai was direct in his answer.

The aged leader asked in a careful tone. "Is he still…?"

"Thinking about killing that woman? Yes." There was no point in lying; not that lying would amount to anything anyway.

Iruka looked displeased. "I hope you aren't encouraging him. She is a dangerous individual." he said, shaking his head sideways in disapproval. "I still don't understand why you had decided to take him in after that incident."

"Why would I encourage Naruto-kun, senpai?" Sai asked in his sweetest voice. "After all, that woman had murdered almost everyone who he had considered as his second family right in front of his eyes. And Danzou-san was only like a father to my brother and I, and she killed them both that night too. So why would I encourage him?" his idle smile widened maliciously. "Surely, Iruka-senpai. You of all people must understand how we feel about the incident, as a former member. Kakashi-senpai and Itachi-san too… we are all that's left of 'Ne'."

Iruka stared at him with glaring eyes, but didn't say anything. The Hokage too, was silent. The other village elders sitting around the table shifted in their seats in unease.

"As for why I had taken him in…" Sai continued. "I think it is rather self-explanatory. He's the closest thing to a younger brother that I'll ever have. I guess you can call it obligation."

"That's surprising, coming from you." Iruka threw in a stab.

Sai merely chuckled at this. "You're the one to talk, senpai. 'Ne' has been disbanded for three years already, yet you're still keeping watch over Sakura-san. It's not like you have to anymore. Is that why you have been refusing to be reassigned to another ANBU squad like me?"

Hate was clearly visible in Iruka's eyes now. He knew Iruka cared deeply about the container of the fox, and using that to his advantage Sai had successfully made him angrier.

"Watch where your flaunt your words, Sai." Iruka said. "My status in ANBU is meant to be confidential. Besides, Kakashi-san is taking care of Sakura now. She is in good hands."

"Is that so? Can't say assigning hentai taichou to watch over her is a good idea." Sai said as he rubbed his chin with his hand in a thoughtful manner. "Not to mention putting not only Itachi-san's younger brother in the same team as her, but Naruto-kun as well. After all, Sakura-san is also that woman's…" he trailed off, feeling slightly uneasy from talking about a past they rather not remember. Still, everyone present there knew very well where Sai was getting at.

Iruka's gaze drifted over to his leader's side that had continued to stay quiet. "It was Hokage-sama's decision."

Sai's eyes widened by just a fraction, the only sign of surprise in his otherwise expressionless face. "Hokage-sama…?" he turned.

The Third Hokage put down his pipe on the desk as he addressed his two men. "It is for the best." he answered, but left it at that. It was clear he wasn't going to say anything else about the issue, nor would he be moved by any means of persuasion.

The youth's eyes closed briefly to digest this new information. When he reopened them, he nodded once to leader. "I think I understand." Sai said. The Hokage smiled at him warmly and titled his head forward in appreciation.

It was then when Sai's senses picked up four approaching presences to this large room. His lips cured in another sly smile. "Well, well, how convenient. The topics of our conversation are headed here as we speak. I think I'll excuse myself and drop by to say hi."

Even before Iruka could stop him, Sai was already out of the door.

* * *

The cat with the ribbon on its left ear just wouldn't stop clawing at her. Perhaps that's what she deserved for insisting on carrying the damn pet from the woods all the way back to the Hokage Tower they were now headed towards. As they entered the residence, Sasuke, ever acting out the 'ladies man' image had offered it to carry for her instead. Sakura was more than happy to, not because she was flattered, though. Let him have a taste of its steel-like claws. She giggled in glee as he struggled with it, holding it front of him trying to maximize the distance between him and the cat lest the claws scratch his face. Naruto walked alongside the two with his usual uncaring attitude, and Kakashi was behind the three of them engrossed in his latest chapter of the perverted 'Icha Icha Paradise' series.

The group climbed up another set of stairs and entered a hallway. At the end was a door, to which they were headed towards. They were on their way to report on successfully competing the "Lost Pet Tora Search Mission" to the Hokage, and perhaps receive a new mission. It was still early in the day.

Truthfully, Sakura wasn't really looking forward to it. For the past few days, the only so-called 'missions' her Genin team had been doing were errand duties for random people around the village. Unless she did _something_, she had an inkling that they would get another mission like the ones they've been doing before.

She broke into a small run through the hallway and approached the door with the intent to throw it open demanding the old man Hokage to give her more 'proper missions', but before she could do so the door opened from the inside. She instantly recognized the youth that stepped out from the room for what he was. Clad in a very familiar uniform designed for maximum movement and protection, before her was a member of the ANBU.

_Ah, so cool!_ This was the first time she ever met someone from the ANBU directly. She had heard countless heroic stories about the elite Ninja squads composed of Chuunin and Jounin, and was fascinated by them. They were the village's most elite, the ones who truly deserved the titles of real, accomplished Ninjas. She was suddenly overcome with a sense of envy. The black-haired boy in front of her was young, perhaps only three or four years older than herself. And already he was at least a Chuunin, and a member of the squad she idolized.

Sakura then noticed that the ANBU member spared a glance down at her, and smiled. His face was quite pale, his eyes were thin, and his smile… it looked so unnatural, almost mechanical. Something about this guy unnerved her. She almost jumped out of her skin when he spoke. "Nice to meet you, Sakura-san."

Her eyes widened. "You know me?" she asked.

"I know a lot about you. After all, you're…" the briefest of pauses. "The village's most famous prankster girl."

"And Future Hokage!" she declared. "And I'll be in ANBU someday too, just like you!" Sakura didn't quite understand what came over her to suddenly announce her dream like that. Why was she so nervous of this guy that caused her to be so defensive she had to act out as if she were strong?

"Ah, that's nice." he nodded once, unfazed by her words as he strolled past her uncaringly.

"H-hey!" she quickly turned around. "You don't care?"

The ANBU didn't reply, and approached the rest of her teammates. She noticed Kakashi fidget a little at the ANBU's presence, and Naruto hastily looking away as if avoiding eye contact. Sasuke was the only indifferent one, still battling with the cat he held firmly within his grasp.

"Hello, Kakashi-senpai." the ANBU man bowed forward a little in front of her teacher.

"Back so soon, Sai?" Kakashi asked behind his masked frown.

"Why, is it so wrong to try to make small-talk? After all, you're taking care of this little unappreciative brat here for me." he gestured to his side towards the boy who was trying his hardest to ignore him. "Isn't that right, Naruto-kun?"

_Huh? That guy is… related to Naruto?_

The ANBU chuckled at the boy's display, and continued to stroll past her team. "I'll catch you two later." he waved at them with his back turned. "And I hope you realize your dream… scary little devil girl."

"HEY!" she called out after him when she realized that insult was directed at her, but the ANBU youth had already left the hallway and was nowhere in sight. Confused, she turned to Naruto and decided to shoot off a question. "Just who is that guy?"

His blue eyes downcast, Naruto at first didn't reply. Sakura was just about to give up and resume her course when he answered. "He is my caretaker of sorts."

"Caretaker?"

"We're not related, but he treats me like his younger brother. Only very annoyingly."

Sakura could've sworn he was growling as he spoke. _Must be some one confusing relationship…_ "Ah, okay." It was clear that he was going to say nothing else, and she wasn't that curious to try to pry any more information off him. She knew Naruto wouldn't have liked it if she tried, anyway. Besides, she had much more important business to take care of.

"Hey! Old man Hokage!" she yelled as she bursted into the room, the earlier conversations already forgotten. "Mission Accomplished!"

With Sakura's words, the door of the waiting room next door opened, and out stepped a plump lady dressed in noble's clothing that immediately stomped over for the cat Sasuke was still battling with. Snatching away the feline animal, the Fire Country Lord's Wife Madame Shijimi immediately smothered her favorite pet cat Tora in a death embrace. "Oooooh! My cute little Tora-chan! I was sooo worried!"

_No wonder why that stupid cat ran away…_ she thought as Sakura felt a little sorry for the cat that was slowly being chocked to death by its owner.

"Well then." the Hokage shifted a little in his chair holding up a small piece of paper. "Kakashi's Team Seven, your next missions are… hmm… you got a choice. Babysitting the elder's grandson, shopping in the neighboring village, help with the potato digging…"

"No, no, NO!" Sakura hastily interrupted her village elder, holding up her crossed arms in denial. "I've had it already! I want to do, you know, more incredible missions! Find us a better one!"

Predictably, her beloved sensei that was sitting next to the Hokage was the first to react to her words. Iruka hastily stood up from his chair and scolded Sakura. "You idiot! You are just a rookie! Everyone starts off with the simplest duties and work their way up!"

"But it's not fair!" she reasoned. "We keep on getting the crappiest possible duties!" Sakura would've kept on going if she didn't receive a soft bop on her head courtesy of her sensei.

"Be quiet you." Kakashi said. "I thought it was about time you'd complain…"

The Hokage simply sighed at her. "Sakura, it seems I have to explain to you what these duties are all about. Listen…" he leaned forward slightly has he removed the smoking pipe from his mouth. "Everyday, the village receives numerous requests, from babysitting to assassination. Each request is written down in these lists and divided into A, B, C, D ranking based on difficulty. The village is also divided based on skill: from me down to the Jounins, Chuunins, and Genins. We then hand out the missions to the ninjas based on their abilities, and if the duty is completed successfully…" he gestured over to Madame Shijimi who was handing her mission fees to the village elder in charge. "We receive payment from the client. You guys just became Genin. D-rank missions are perfectly suited for you."

"I already know that!" Sakura huffed at his words as she sat down on the floor with her legs crossed. "All you do is give lectures, thinking that I'm incapable. But you know what? I'm not just troublemaking little girl you still think I am! Hmph!" her head snapped to the side, pouting.

After a brief uncomfortable silence, a low laugh echoed from the bellows of Hokage's stomach. "Ok." he said.

Sakura's head snapped back to attention. "Huh?"

"I'll give you a C-rank mission. It's the protection of a certain individual."

_Hell yeah! Now we're talking!_ She hastily jumped up from her sitting position, and gestured excitedly. "All right! Who is it? A princess? Or maybe even a handsome Feudal Lord?"

"Calm down, Sakura. I'm about to introduce him." the Hokage turned his head towards the door that was connected to the waiting room next door. "Will you come in here, please?"

It wasn't quite what she expected. Behind the door emerged an elderly man with gray hair that looked quite drunk with his cheeks so red. In one of his hands he held a bottle of sake, which he took a chug of as he stepped into the room. "What's this?" he exclaimed. "They're all a bunch of super brats. Especially that shortest one with the stupid-looking face. Are you really a Ninja? Hey?"

Sakura quickly glanced to her left and right at her two teammates. After quickly comparing their heights, she realized immediately the man had been talking about Naruto. She chuckled to herself quietly when she saw Naruto twitch a little in irritation.

"I'll kill you…" he mumbled beneath his breath.

"What's the point of killing the person we're suppose to protect? Idiot." Kakashi whispered behind him as he crumpled Naruto's hair teasingly. He emitted a low growl in response.

"I am the super expert bridge builder Tazuna." the man introduced himself. "I expect you to provide me super protection until I get back to my country and complete the bridge!"

* * *

"They have been found."

The black and gray image of the figure flickered for a brief moment.

"That's the only reason you called us together?" voiced another image, as if irritated. The tone of the next words had confirmed that it was indeed. "You know I don't like waiting or making people wait."

"Oh shut up." the first responded with equal venom.

Surrounded by the darkness deep in the forest literally in the middle of nowhere, the two non-corporeal images glared at each other. It was rather useless, as their actual physical bodies were miles away and thus couldn't engage each other while they were using these means of communication. But they would be dammed before they will submit themselves to each other.

"Hey hey… calm down, you two." the third and last image said, cutting in-between the two. "So, _Ku_, you found them, yeah?"

Sparing a glance at the last image, the image of the first nodded at its given codename. "They were hired by a certain man. My subordinates had intercepted the information."

The second image huffed at the comment. "Hah, they're that desperate are they? For their whereabouts located by your spies, pathetic."

Ignoring the snide insult, the image referred to as _Ku_ continued. "Their base is located in a small forest in the Country of Wave, just next to the Fire Country border."

"So are you going to directly attack them, yeah?" the third questioned as it retreated into its respective corner of the small clearing they were gathered in.

The gray image of _Ku_ shook its head sideways. "Directly attacking them will be dangerous."

"What, are you scared?" the second image threw in another insult, partially chuckling as its low assemble shook a little in laughter.

"Will you please shut up _Gyoku_. Although he is not aware, he does have partial control of its abilities. And may I remind you that of the three of us here, _I-_" it paused a little for emphasis. "-am the only one who has free reign over their actions, unlike you and _Sei_. Both of you are still stuck in your villages. If it weren't for that, we would've been done with this ages ago."

_Gyoku_ snorted at its words. "I can get my target and have free reign anytime I want." it declared.

"Sh." _Sei_ put up a finger in front of the image of its lips. "Someone is coming… yeah."

It was only by chance the traveling medicine vendor stumbled upon the clearing. Pure chance. As he sat down on a nearby rock and opened his water canteen to take a small break, he never would have imagined in his wildest dreams that just seconds before, three images of figures that wore cloaks of red clouds were speaking a conversation that could've meant his immediate death if he had overheard.

* * *

_**Neechan… when will you wake up again?**_

_**When will you tell us that everything will be back the way it was before?**_

_**- Uchiha Obito**_

-

_**Tainted Demon Eyes**_

_**- Chapter Six -**_

"**_Keep the Customer Satisfied"_**

_**-END-**_

**_

* * *

Author's Notes:_**

The plot thickens. Dun. Dun. Dunnnn.

First things first, I apologize for the lateness. For me, holidays are a busy time.

I had originally planned for this chapter to have two other extra scenes, but the chapter turned out to be a little longer than I had originally expected so they were cut. I'm trying to keep all of them at a semi-constant length. Well, actually, that's not really the only reason… I had wanted to publish this chapter before my self-imposed deadline that was the end of the year, so it came out rather incomplete (again). However, the two extra scenes have merely been pushed back to the next chapter (although I kind of regret having to cut out the drunken Itachi scene completely, oh wells, perhaps some other time).

I liked the ending scene for this chapter, quite the cliffhanger. Thought it fit well. It goes without saying it is rather obvious as to who (or what) the shadowy figures are if one follows the original Naruto storyline closely. I still tried to keep them as mysterious as possible without giving away too much, though.

This was a difficult chapter to write. With it being AU, it's really hard to keep the story flow as natural as possible introducing the changes while still following the correct timeline and events in the original Naruto storyline. I don't normally watch the Anime version of Naruto since it sometimes doesn't follow the real storyline in the Manga (which I base my work on), but I had to borrow a few elements from the Anime here and there. The reintroduction of the new and improved (?) rookie nine in this chapter was one such example; I borrowed a few scenes from the Anime and remodeled it in my vision in this chapter. Since we won't be seeing the other Genins for some time, I thought it was fitting to show some of their new personalities and relationships a little before the storyline in the Wave Country Arc takes place.

And Sai… he's a bastard (chuckle). But he's a good character to have around for the sake of plot development. Little hints here and there of what had happened in the past, although with the Wave Country Arc starting in the next chapter, it wouldn't be touched on for some time. It will be very important in the later chapters, however.

I'm also considering revising the formats for the first three chapters as they are now outdated and a few mistakes I've noticed in the fourth and fifth. I'm not really looking forward to it since sometimes messes up the format when I upload the chapters, and they're quite the pain to edit out. For this reason the next chapter might take some time for it to be completed. I apologize in advance.

Reviews, comments, criticism, always welcome! They are the very fuel that keeps an author going!

Happy Holidays!

- Nes Mikel

* * *

_**Japanese Word Translations in Chapter Six (in order of appearance):**_

**_ninja _**– a member of a class of 14th-century Japanese mercenary agents who were trained in the martial arts and hired for covert operations such as assassination and sabotage. Note that the ninja's in this fic is not based off real life, but based off the ninja's in "Naruto"

**_sharingan_** – literal translation: "copy wheel eye". In "Naruto", Sharingan are special bloodline limit abilities that can be used by members of the Uchiha Clan.

**_neechan _**– affectionate way of calling someone "older sister".

**_genin _**– novice-class ninjas on the ninja hierarchy.

**_hokage _**– literal translation is "shadow of fire". Title given to the leaders of the Hidden Leaf.

**_kyuubi no youko_** – lit trans: "nine tailed demon fox".

**_shinobi _**– literal translation is "those who stealth". Another word for ninjas.

**_jounin_** – expert-class ninjas on the ninja hierarchy

**_kun _**– attached after a name, basically it's used to call someone who is younger than you or about the same age. What makes it confusing is that it's used in some other situations that is rather hard to explain.

**_sensei _**– teacher

**_kunoichi _**– female ninjas. Literal translation is "nine is one." If one combines the three kanji's (one of the three types of the Japanese alphabet) that make up the word kunoichi, it becomes another kanji that means "woman".

**_san_ **_– _attached after a name, it is a way of calling people out of respect. It could mean "Mr", "Miss" or "Mrs".

**_gi_ **_– _common clothing worn by men in the oriental medieval ages. Think Judo/Karate uniforms with that are more loosely fitting and different colors.

**_sama _**– attached after a name, could mean "lord" or "master". Either work.

**_chuunin _**– intermediate-class ninjas on the ninja hierarchy.

**_anbu_** – literal translation: "dark squad". In "Naruto" these are elite ninja squads that accomplish the most dangerous missions such as assassinations. They sort of act like military police too.

**_ryo_** – currency in the world of "Naruto". To put it into relative terms, ten ryo equals to approximately one dollar in real life.

**_senpai – _**term used to call your senior in the same field

**_ne_** – literal translation is "root". In "Naruto", this is a name of an actual ANBU squad.

**_hentai_** – pervert. Typically used as an insult.

**_taichou – _**captain

_**chan **– _attached after a name, it is a way of calling people who are considerably younger than you, or a girl, or as a form of a pet name. Closest translation will be "Miss", but this word can be used for men, too, so it is rather incorrect.

**_sake – _**traditional Japanese alcoholic beverage

**_ku – _**lit trans: "air".

**_gyoku – _**lit trans: "jewel".

**_sei - _**lit trans: "blue".


	7. Anji

"**_Tainted Demon Eyes"_**

_By Nes Mikel_

_Acknowledgment;_

_I herby acknowledge that the work of fiction presented here is for my own personal amusement and entertainment purposes alone. Most of the story, characters, place names and other etc stuff in this fiction are copyright Naruto, Kishimoto Masashi, Weekly Shounen Jump, and any others I might have forgot. Enjoy._

_**

* * *

**_

- Chapter Seven -

"**_Anji"_**

"_It's not like you've seen me naked before." – Sai

* * *

_

The eyes of the female receptionist of the Hidden Leaf's Hospital greeted in a familiar sight. Walking calmly through the double doors of the main lobby, the man raised the palm of his hand towards her in acknowledgement, and strolled over to the desk where she worked at.

The exchange took place almost everyday.

Truthfully, the receptionist was quite flattered at the courtesy of this man towards her. If she didn't know any better she would've thought the man was coming to the hospital just to see her, and perhaps, maybe, ask her out someday for lunch, or – god forbid – even a date. She explored at the possibility and endlessly daydreamed about the topic on the slow days of her work, blushing madly at her girlish thoughts and desperately trying to avoid the states her co-workers gave her at her odd behavior. She couldn't help it. After all, he _was_ one of the Hidden Leaf's most eligible bachelors, and she was sure that behind the black facemask and the Leaf Protector that covered his left eye, a handsome face existed. But it was only a fantasy. She knew his heart went out towards someone else in this hospital, and it was not she.

"Hey." he said.

"Kakashi-san." she bowed politely, still sitting behind the counter.

"Any changes on her condition?" he asked absentmindedly.

He was so direct, as always. Good thing it was only a small crush she had on this man. If she had really loved him, it would've tormented her to no end at how he could just ignore and bypass her feelings so casually and immediacy diverge into the topic of that woman he cared so deeply about. "No." she answered as she slowly shook her head sideways, a little sad.

He sighed in disappointment as he rested both of his elbows on the counter. Leaning forward slightly, his forehead rested on his kneaded hands. "I see…"

"Kakashi-san, I…"

He straightened his posture and smiled at her. "It's okay." He then turned his gaze towards the rest of the lobby, where patients and doctors and nurses scuttled about busily. "I shouldn't be distracting you from your job."

She giggled a little at this. "It's not that busy today. I don't mind."

"I'm going on a mission today with my team in about thirty minutes." Kakashi announced. "I may not be back for a few weeks. So I've come to say my goodbyes, before we set off."

The receptionist also knew he didn't mean her when he said he came to say his goodbyes to. Trying her best to ignore the sharp tinge in her heart, she tried to put on her best smile. "That's so nice of you. I'm sure she'll appreciate all the care you've shown her."

"Do you think so?"

"Of course. Women will find it quite romantic."

"Haha… I'm not that good when it comes romance. The only ones that I know are from the Icha… err… well, let's not get into that, shall we?"

Now only if he didn't add in that last part, she would've found it pretty cute at how he blushed at her complement like a schoolboy. Frowning a little with her smile still on, she replied. "Of course, Kakashi-san."

"Same room?"

"Yes. Rin-san is still in Room 401."

"Thanks." He nodded once appreciatively, and walked away towards his destination.

"Don't stay in the room too long, Kakashi-san! Don't forget you have a mission!" the receptionist called after him. Laughing as if embarrassed at her comment, he waved back at her before he disappeared up the stairwell. Staring at the stairwell a little while longer longingly, she sighed once as the receptionist went back to her paperwork she had been doing before he came in through the doors.

Hatake Kakashi was a good man, but he had a few flaws. One of them was his infamous love for the perverted series of novels aptly titled the 'Icha Icha Paradise'. The other was his reputation for being late for almost everything. However, unlike his other flaw, he had a good reason for this one. For the past fourteen years, Hatake Kakashi had been visiting the hospital almost everyday to visit his comatose teammate, ever since his Genin team had returned from that mission that had crushed the entire ride side of his female teammate's body. She had miraculously survived, but had been rendered in that static state ever since, never to wake up from slumber.

However, like many others, the receptionist was not aware of the truth.

Uchiha Rin did wake up.

Only once.

"**_Obito… she's…"_**

"**_Dammit…! Kakashi, we need a doctor in here, NOW!" _**

"…**_NO!"_**

"**_Rin?"_**

"**_Neechan?"_**

"**_Kakashi… Obito… get away from me! Run…!"_**

"**_What are you talking abou-"_**

"**_I… I can't… hold… aaaHHHH!"_**

Twelve years ago.

* * *

Uzumaki Naruto jumped across a few more rooftops before he found himself in front of his apartment, staring at the wide-open door. Well, it was more of a window rather than a door, really, as his small apartment was similar to that of an attic. The room was formally an empty loft located upstairs originally meant for storage purposes but was later modified into something that was more comfortable for people to live in, with a working kitchen and bathroom installed. It was, however, isolated from the rest of the rest of the building, and the only way to enter was from this black-rimmed window – which was currently wide open. Naruto's hands immediately went for the kunai is his weapons holster and pulled it in a defensive position in front of him. 

Naruto sighed. He really didn't have time for this, but it left him with no other choice. He did live here, after all. He carefully approached the open window and took a surveying glance inside. The sound of running water drifted towards his ears. Someone was in there.

His fingers traced the rim of the window frame. Nothing. Confirming it trap-free, he climbed over and stepped inside. As soon as his feet touched the wooden floors of his apartment, he snapped his kunai up and deflected the shuriken sprung from the trap that he had activated when his feet broke the strings that held the projectile in place.

The sound of running water abruptly stopped, and a familiar figure calmly walked out from the bathroom. "You're getting more observant." it said.

He glared at the source of the voice, but immediately regretted it. Standing not too far away from him was Sai who just came out from the shower… completely naked. The only piece of cloth he even bothered to carry was the white towel that draped over his wet hair.

"For the love of… if you have time to set up a trap, Sai, then at least wear something decent." Naruto spat out distastefully.

"You're such a child Naruto-kun. It's not like you've seen me naked before."

"Shut up!" Naruto growled as he went over to his closet, pulling out a few articles of clothing. "I have to get ready for a mission. I don't have time for your silly games now."

Sai shrugged as he wrapped the white towel around his waist and drifted over to the fridge not too far away. Pulling out a drink and opening the can, he took a small swig at it before turning his attention back to his roommate. "What kind of mission?"

"Away."

"Wow. This early? You're good, Naruto-kun!"

Naruto ignored his sarcastic complement as he continued to stuff the necessities into his backpack. He scanned his apartment a little, seeing if he'd missed anything. There were a few scrolls scattered about the messy room that was more like an art studio, with its many brushes, paint, and canvas of different shapes and sizes littering the floor. Paintings of various styles hung loose from the walls, some of them his creation, but mostly authored by Sai.

If only he wasn't so utterly annoying towards him with these snide insults, Naruto really would've considered respecting Sai as the older brother figure in his life. He had to admit that he already did possess similar feelings towards his caretaker that was three years his elder, and was appreciative that he had taken in him after his previous foster 'family' had been massacred… but that didn't mean he had to like him. Eyeing a scroll that was on the floor next to Sai, he gestured towards it. "Toss me that, will you?"

Sai narrowed his already thin eyes. "Come and get it yourse-" he was interrupted when Sai had to tilt his head sideways to evade the kunai thrown at him. "Fine, fine." He leaned down and grabbed the scroll, and tossed it to his charge. Naruto caught it with his left hand and stuffed it into the many pockets of the pack. He mentally went over his equipment list, double-checking everything to make sure he had all he needed. Satisfied, he hoisted the backpack onto his shoulders and prepared to leave.

"Be careful, okay?"

The unexpected parting words from his foul-mouthed roommate stopped him in his tracks. Naruto stared at Sai, a little confused. "What…?"

"I said, be careful." the still half-naked youth answered.

Naruto snorted. "It's just a C-ranked escort mission. I'll be fine."

"Away means you're going outside the village, Naruto." it wasn't often when Sai referred to him without suffixes. He was speaking towards him seriously, a side of Sai that Naruto had rarely seen.

Naruto frowned.

"She is out there, somewhere." Sai continued.

His frown hardened.

"It's your first mission outside the village. Chances are that you won't be running into her, but… if you do, you will most likely do something stupid. So be careful."

"I will not."

"Yes, you will."

Naruto didn't deny it a second time. "Is that all?" he asked instead, turning away from him to leave. "I should get going."

Sai stopped him and he continued to talk. "Compared to her, you are still weak. You will not even stand a chance. Get that in your head, your dickless wonder."

Naruto gritted his teeth. "I made a vow. I _will_ kill her. They will not rest in peace until I have avenged for their deaths. I will _not_ turn back on my word."

"Not all of us are dead." Sai remarked. "I'm still alive."

"You were in the squad for a week." Naruto pointed out. "They have been my 'family' for almost nine years."

"Fine. Then what about Itachi-san? Or Iruka-senpai? Or even Kakashi-taichou?"

Naruto's eyes widened at the last name. "…What?"

It was Sai's turn to be surprised. Well, only slightly. "What, you didn't know?"

"Wolf-mask was Kakashi?"

"Huh. This is certainly a surprise. But yes, he is. I guess it makes sense. He never did take off that mask of his while he was in 'Ne', and he tended to avoid you seeing as how the rest of the squad was taking care of you. He never was the most social person."

"…"

"You see, Naruto-kun? The people of 'Ne' are still caring for you. It's not your fight alone. Remember that. She is my sworn enemy as well."

"…I'll keep that in mind."

"Good." Sai nodded once. "Go, then."

And he was off.

* * *

If there was one thing Uchiha Mikoto regretted, it was that she hardly got to spend any quality time with two sons, especially the younger one. However, her duties as the miko of the Main Temple of the Nakano Shrine kept her away from the house more often than she liked. As a result, she was even unable to see Sasuke off when he had became Genin, much less see him off whenever he was even going away for a day on a mission. The thought always made her feel a little guilty. 

Now, her little boy was already getting missions that took him away from the village. Mikoto was by no means a weak woman, but it broke her heart. _Children grow up so fast…_

The least she could do was to at least try to attempt to make things right. For once, her duties at the shrine didn't keep her away from the house today. She finally had the necessary time to herself so she could say her goodbyes to her son before a mission.

For the moment, she was washing dishes in the kitchen. She could've let one of the maids handle it, but old habits died hard. It was a refreshing change, staying at home, attending to her motherly duties. It wasn't something she would've enjoyed doing everyday, but nonetheless she basked in the moment of tranquil peace of normality.

She heard a set of scuffling upstairs followed up by sequences of squabbling and yelling. Mikoto closed her eyes and shook her head sideways, a little happy at how some things never changed. On the outside, those two brothers looked as if they shared the worst of relationships, but being a mother had its perks. Despite how they constantly argued with each other over the smallest things, she knew Itachi and Sasuke had really cared for each other, and they shared an unbreakable brotherly bond. The little detail made her happy; Mikoto was proud to call them her two sons.

It didn't take long before she heard the Sasuke's loud stomping climbing down the stairs, obviously displeased at his older brother pampering him like a child (which he was, as Itachi dully reminded him, which only served to fuel Sasuke's anger). Sparing a glace to the hallway outside the room, Mitoko saw Sasuke pass by the kitchen door, his cheeks singed in a little shade of purple fury as he continued to stomp towards the exit before Itachi could catch him in his teases again.

Mikoto quickly twisted the kitchen sink's faucet shut and wiped her wet hands over the lower half of the apron she wore before she stepped out of room. "Leaving without saying goodbye, Sasuke dear?" she said it with a touch of sarcasm. Sasuke smacked the palm of his hand over his face in mental agony, fully aware that it was her mother teasing him now. Although she was half-joking with her son, it did hurt a little inside at how Sasuke had fully intended to leave without a word of farewell. Had their distance as a mother and a son drift apart so much in such little time?

"I'm sorry mother." Sasuke stammered out, avoiding direct contact with her eyes. He was at least apologetic. "I just wanted to get away from Itachi as fast as I can…"

She heard a pair of footsteps approach her from behind.

"Is that so?"

Sasuke groaned. His worst nightmare had caught up to him. Mikoto aptly turned around to see a smirking Itachi towering behind her, obviously pleased at his successful attempts of pissing his younger brother off. Mikoto suspected it was fast becoming Itachi's favorite hobby of his. "Oh knock it off you two." she deadpanned, a look of disapproval carved in her face.

"Yes mother." they chorused. It was clear that they weren't really listening to her seriously though, as they continued to glare at each other, Sasuke distastefully and Itachi triumphantly in a silent battle of wills. Such were the nature of these boys. She resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

She decided to change the subject. "Sasuke, be careful ok?" she advised her son, her motherly mode in full swing. "I know it's just C-rank, but there's always the possibility…"

Her son interrupted her worries with a shrug. "Mother, I will be fine. Although Kakashi-sensei is a little weird, he's a Jounin. What can possibly go wrong?"

Itachi then proceeded to make a sarcastic comment about how Sasuke was too reliant on his instructor and the younger brother of course retorted back, their mother's earlier words already forgotten. But Mikoto paid little heed to their words. She was slightly distracted at what Sasuke had just told her.

_Kakashi… is his instructor?_

She knew the man. Almost every single senior member of the Uchiha clan did. He is, after all, the only non-Uchiha member that possessed that specific eye that differentiated the Uchihas from the rest of the village. There was debate a long time ago about how he should've been taken care of under the authority of the clan after he came to possess the eye, but the then Fourth Hokage had shot that request down. He insisted that the Hatake was a man of his own, and the Uchihas had wisely taken back their claims. One did just not go against the Fourth Hokage. Even in death.

Mikoto soon came to the conclusion that it was perhaps fitting for Kakashi to be the Jounin instructor for Sasuke. At the very least he knew how the aspect of their bloodline worked, and when the time came for Sasuke to awaken his powers, he would have an instructor that was capable of teaching him how to utilize that same power. It then suddenly occurred to her that Mikoto hardly knew just what kind of Genin team Sasuke belonged to. Interrupting the brotherly squabble between her two sons, she turned to Sasuke and shot him a question. "Sasuke, how are your teammates?"

Caught a little off guard at her sudden inquiry, Sasuke crooked his chin to the side and remained silent for a little while before he answered. "Well… I can't really say much about Naruto. He's okay, I guess, a little on the quiet side, but he's pretty strong."

One of Mikoto's eyebrows rose at this. "Naruto, as in, Kazama?" she asked, a little surprised at the revelation that one of his teammates was the son of the famed Fourth Hokage.

Sasuke blinked once as he stared at her in confusion. "Er, no, he's a Uzumaki."

"Uzuma… oh, I see." she nodded once in understanding. "What about your other teammate?"

"Sakura? Well, she's pretty cute, and I've been trying to…" Sasuke's words quickly trailed off, and a look of concern settled upon his cool face as he noticed the woman's expression in front of him had turned sour. "Mother? What's wrong?"

Realizing that she had slipped, Mikoto quickly got a hold herself and smiled sweetly at her son. "No, it's nothing. Now, run along dear, I don't want you late for your mission. You have to meet your team at the gate soon, don't you?"

Sasuke laughed, a little sheepish. "I still have a few minutes. Besides, Kakashi-sensei will probably show up late again. But thanks anyways, mother." He stood up as he finished putting on his shoes, and stepped out of the doorway. "Later aniki! Goodbye mother!" he dashed out, and was soon gone.

Mikoto stood there a little while longer before she turned her back from the doorway. She then noticed someone staring at her, and raised her downcast eyes only to look into the concerned gaze of her eldest son.

"Mother…"

"Just what is Hokage-sama thinking…?" Mikoto said, bitterness clearly evident in her tone.

"Sakura isn't the demon." Itachi solemnly replied as he moved in to defend the girl. "She is merely a container."

Mikoto unconsciously wiped the already dry hands on her apron, her vision wandering as she lost herself in her disturbed thoughts. "Even if what you say is true, Itachi… she is an Haruno."

An exhausted silence settled over mother and son.

"…I wish you wouldn't speak of them like that." Itachi whispered.

She narrowed her eyes, her business-like aura she often emanated as a miko returning as her piercing black eyes stated at his. "You only feel that way because you were engaged to that woman. We were willing to give them one last chance… but what did she do to you in the end?"

Itachi didn't answer.

"She betrayed your trust." Mikoto continued, a touch of sadness evident in her voice. "She betrayed our trust, the village's trust. She murdered one of the Advisors… she killed your best friend, and most of your former ANBU squad to which you three belonged…"

"Please mother." Itachi interrupted her, his concerned face now turning into something more akin to hurt. "I know…"

Mikoto paused briefly for the sake of her son, but she decided to add in one last detail to remind Itachi of the situation. "And that Sakura girl… is her younger sister."

Again, Itachi didn't answer.

Mikoto breathed out a disappointed sigh as she turned away from Itachi to return to the kitchen, intent on finishing cleaning the dishes. "I only say this because I'm concerned for you Itachi." she said as picked up the orange sponge floating amidst the soapy waters in the sink. "You have to move on. I know you loved her… but she will never come back. She is dead to us now."

Itachi nodded at her words, and silently decided to withdraw to his room upstairs as he steadily walked away to leave. Mikoto watched his retreating figure with pitying eyes momentarily, before she hastily returned to her self-appointed task.

The least she could do was to at least try to attempt to make things right. Not just for Sasuke, but for Itachi as well. Her oldest son carried a emotional scar that could not be cured easily, if not at all. That mental wound had carried over to Mikoto too – she had once liked the girl Itachi was engaged to. As a mother, Mikoto was disappointed that she was not blessed with a daughter, but Itachi's fiancée had filled that void in her heart and loved the younger woman as she would've loved a true daughter. She had all but forgotten what the Harunos truly were until they were reminded of it on that night.

They were a clan of traitors.

She desperately hoped that the last Haruno girl would not turn out to be like the rest of them. For the sake of that Sakura girl, for the sake of her two sons, for the sake of the village…

For the sake of Mikoto, as well.

* * *

Sakura's current mood was confusing at best. 

She really didn't mind the fact that her perverted teacher showed up along with the client they had to protect thirty minute late from their assigned gather time. They were originally given fifteen minutes to prepare for their departure, and Sakura had hastily packed every single Dango she could find in her household (along with a few scrolls and acupuncture needles, her other weapons she already had on her) and have even made emergency purchases from the Ichiraku only to find out that her haste was all in vain. She should've known better. At the very least thirty minutes was a record for Kakashi – she and her two other teammates had fully expected him to take another hour or two. Regardless, her anger quickly dissipated when excitement took a hold of her. This was the first time she ever got to leave the village.

Her excited mood spiraled downwards when their bridge building client didn't share her enthusiasm. Tazuna openly voiced his complaints when he questioned their teacher if he was really going to be safe with these 'brats', as he called them. This touched a sensitive corner in Sakura's mind as she quickly backed up her claims of strength and told him not to mess around with ninjas such as she. She even told him her dream of becoming Hokage. He seemed skeptic about her claims and had said that he doubted a girl like her could be one. Her Inner Sakura mode now fully tuned, she yelled at him that he would forced acknowledge her once she becomes Hokage.

He simply didn't care. "No I won't, you brat… even if you did become Hokage."

If it weren't for her teacher grabbing the collar of her dress to hold her back, Sakura would've carried out Naruto's death threat on Tazuna for him.

Thus the awkward party of five had set off towards their destination, with an excited, angry, disappointed and moody kunoichi amongst them. The group traveled in blundering silence as they steadily marched along the main road, passing by a few creeks and small rivers here and there. It was unnerving for Sakura. She wasn't used to all this quiet, especially so amongst her teammates. She wasn't the village's loudest kunoichi for nothing. She decided to start a conversation for the sake of her boredom. Putting on her best mature behavior, she turned to her client. "Umm, Tazuna-san?"

"What?" he asked, clearly annoyed.

Sakura tried her best to suppress her Inner Sakura rage directed at the insensitive client. She hoped dearly that her twitch didn't show. "You're from the Wave Country, right?"

Tazuna looked at her as if she had just grown two heads, likely surprised at how suddenly the seemingly immature girl changed into something that was a little more proper. "What about it?"

Nodding once, Sakura then turned to her teacher, who was surprisingly not engrossed in that book of his. "Kakashi-sensei." Sakura addressed him to get his attention. "Do they have ninjas in that country too?"

"No, not in the Wave Country." he answered. She was slightly disappointed at this, but Kakashi continued on with his explanation. "But… in most other countries, the culture and customs may be different, but hidden villages exist, and so do ninjas. To the many countries of the continent, the existence of a shinobi village means military power. This is how they hold and maintain advantages over each other. But, it's not that the villages rule the countries, they merely stand on equal terms with the country's government."

"So… because the Wave is a small country, it doesn't need a shinobi village?" Sasuke asked, joining in the conversation.

Their instructor nodded. "Within the many counties that have shinobi villages, Fire, Water, Thunder, Wind, and Earth countries are large and powerful, and thus referred to as the Five Great Shinobi Countries." Kakashi turned to the only student that remained unresponsive at the conversation. "Here's a pop quiz. Naruto, can you name the five Great Shinobi Counties and their respective villages?"

Naruto stared at Kakashi with a bemused expression before he replied monotonously to his question. "Fire Country, Hidden Leaf Village. Water Country, Hidden Mist Village. Thunder Country, Hidden Cloud Village. Wind Country, Hidden Sand Village. Earth Country, Hidden Stone Village."

Sakura saw Kakashi mask's twist a little in a smile, obviously satisfied. "Very good. Only the leaders of those villages are allowed to receive the title of 'Kage'. The Hokage, Mizukage, Raikage, Kazekage, and Tsuchikage: these five are referred to as the 'Five Shadows'. They are the ninjas that rule over the tens of thousands of ninjas scattered about in this world."

"That lame geezer is that incredible…?" Sakura quietly asked, her voice full of doubt. Her thoughts went back to the time when she had stolen the scroll with that certain killer technique (restricted to men) of hers and how the old man had succumbed to her charm. _I even defeated him once too…_

Kakashi grinned at them. "You just doubted Hokage-sama, didn't you?" Sakura quickly shook her head in denial of the fact before she felt Kakashi's hand rest on top of her short rosette hair. "But don't worry, there won't be any ninja combat in a C-rank mission."

Sakura wasn't really worried; in fact she felt quite the opposite. "Then, we won't come in contact with foreign ninjas…?"

"Of course not! Hahahaha!"

Shoving her sensei's hand away from her head, she stomped forward of the pack, a little angry. _And here I thought I was going to be able to kick some ass!_

A wise man once said: 'be careful what you wish for'.

Sakura never noticed the suspicious water puddle in the middle of the road in this bright and sunny day as she passed it by. It had never occurred to her that it hasn't rained for at least a week in Fire Country. The puddle was not just unnatural. It was also artificial.

* * *

Naruto hated being underestimated. He already had to put up with Sai who constantly did so already everyday he was around. Unfortunately for Naruto, Sai could rightly underestimate him so – he wasn't all talk, Sai was an actual skilled, capable ninja with superior skills. Whatever attempts at feeble revenge Naruto plotted against him had always been thwarted. He bitterly then opted to learn from his mistakes and had studied… no, 'stolen' Sai's strategies and techniques, in hopes that one day that he will be strong enough to defeat his mentor (he bitterly admitted), and, consequently, his target of revenge. So Sai was the only person he could _somewhat_ tolerate when one underestimated him. The others, on the other hand, were a different story. 

Naruto didn't quite understand why people did so. So he was short for his age, the sad fact attributed to his dislike of milk (just how could one stand to drink some white juice that was extracted from the breasts of a cow?). He wore flamboyant orange-colored clothing, which one could say was stupid for a ninja, but it was a sign of his confidence in his skills. As for his looks… fine, he didn't look _that_ intelligent, but he didn't think he looked stupid, either. So not only did Tazuna accuse him of looking stupid, he had even doubted of him being a ninja. Naruto wasn't kidding when he said he wanted to kill him. Only the voice of reason within his mind and Kakashi holding him back had saved him from committing unnecessary murder.

And now he had to put up with this.

The duo had suddenly ambushed the group from behind as they vertically emerged from the puddle they had passed by moments ago. Kakashi was their first victim, not even giving him time to move before the chains completely wrapped around him in a tight embrace. "One down!" He was then torn into thins threads of meat, blood and guts splattered, the crimson color staining the brown dirt road.

_What a show off._

Naruto instantly realized that the Kakashi that had 'died' was a fake. The Wolf-masked man he knew back from the days of 'Ne' always did like to go out with a bang. That display was a bit over the top, though. Naruto noticed Sakura's normally cheerful face had turned a shade paler at the excessively graphic scene, although it was merely an illusion. But he doubted if the girl could see through it. It had fooled their attackers completely, after all.

After they had 'dealt' with Kakashi, the two thugs disappeared from the scene only to reappear behind his back, fully intent on tearing him to shreds with their sharp claws and chains because he had apparently looked the easiest to kill. His eyebrows furrowed together in annoyance. God, he hated being underestimated. Oh well. At the very least he now found a vent to unleash his frustration, and this time there was nothing holding him back.

"Two down!" they said, their voices full of confidence as they prepared to finish him off. Naruto narrowed his eyes as he noticed that the clawed arms linked the sharp triangle chains the attackers wielded to each other. Noting this small detail, he evaded the incoming iron menace by ducking once before it had a chance to withhold him. He rolled his body over to the side before his attackers regrouped and jumped once high into the air, landing on top of a nearby tree branch. Quickly unstrapping the weapons holster attached to the leg, he withdrew a small quadruple bladed shuriken and let it loose. The projectile hit the chain and embedded itself into the nearby tree. He immediately followed it up with a kunai, and successfully pinned the chains to the tree rendering the attackers immobile for the time being. Naruto knew that it wasn't going to last for long, but it was enough to buy him some time.

Reaching behind, he quickly pulled out one of the scrolls from the backpack and tore off the binding paper seal that kept it shut. He unrolled the scroll just a tad before he threw the entire scroll at his attackers that were still struggling to break their pinned chains free. Naruto's hands fluttered about as he formed the necessary seals for his technique. As he progressed, the scroll of paper twisted once in midair as if alive before the prewritten lines started to glow red from his chakra. It was finished.

"Giga: Hebi no Sho!"

From the scrolls out bursted a large black snake, almost as large as an anaconda. Tearing the now-useless scroll it emerged from to shreds it quickly slithered its way about to his opponents, ready to wrap them around in its choking embrace to restraining them. At that precise moment, the attackers decided to abandon their now useless chain weapon and disengaged it from their claws and separated, one of them going for Sakura, the other going for Sasuke and Tazuna. The duo tore through the snake-beast counterfeit completely and turned it back into a puddle of ink and charged. Sakura gave out a shriek, meekly holding up her defenseless hands in front of herself in a feeble attempt at a guard.

_Tsk, dammit…_

"Sasuke!" Naruto turned. "Protect the old man!" he commanded. With Naruto's words Sasuke's legs stopped shaking and pulled out his kunai to protect himself and the client trembling with fear behind him. They would be fine; Naruto knew that when it came down to it, Sasuke was a capable ninja. At the moment he was more preoccupied with protecting his female teammate. His counterfeit was useless now, and he had no time to call forth another. Focusing chakra in his legs, he dashed out from the tree branch, desperately trying to put himself in between Sakura and her attacker. "Sakura!" he shouted, trying to distract the enemy as its claws came into contact with Sakura's skin. _Dammit, not fast enough…!_

_Slam!_

The enemy ninja slumped into the ground, unconscious. Kakashi stood above the fallen figure, his other occupied arm clutching the other that had attacked Sasuke and Tazuna, obviously knocked out judging from its unresponsiveness.

_Hmph… leave it up to him to hog the spotlight. _Naruto silently muttered to himself, a little dissatisfied.

_

* * *

I… I couldn't do anything… _

Sakura sat there for a while longer, dumbfounded. She barely heard her instructor when he offered his apologizes for getting her injured as she struggled to comprehend what had just happened. They were ambushed, that much she knew. Kakashi had used kawarimi from the very beginning to fool their attackers in order to catch them off guard, and that plan had obviously worked out beautifully. Even that lecher Sasuke had put up a good, albeit short, fight to protect the client against the unexpected attacker before Kakashi intervened.

She, on the other hand, couldn't do anything. She was unable to react when they suddenly attacked them. Her frightened emotions ran rampart as it took a hold of her when she witnessed her teacher getting torn into shreds in front of her eyes. Her heart was screaming in denial, telling her that this could possibly not be happening. She could not move, she couldn't even protect herself.

_Yet Naruto… _

It was probably his first real battle, yet not only did he coolly evade his opponent's attacks when he was targeted, he had even launched a counterattack. Was he not scared at all? He stood their not too far away from her, standing ever so casually as if nothing happened. As far as Sakura could tell he didn't even have a speck of dust on him. He had even moved in to save her…

"Well anyway, nice job Naruto. You too Sasuke." Kakashi complemented his two students. Sakura quickly caught on that she was omitted from the list of praises. Her eyes dropped to the ground. She felt totally useless.

"Are you all right?" the voice caught her unprepared. She had fully expected Sasuke the one to talk to her like that, but when she snapped her head back up she was a little surprised when it was Naruto that offered his hand. She blushed a little, a little flattered for his concern, and took up on his offer. He helped her up, but soon let go, turned and walked away from her. "Now we're even." he said.

Her kind feelings vanished in a flash when rage took a hold of her instead. So he had helped her only because he felt indebted to her back at the Practice Arena when he took advantage of her! "Why you…!" _And I thought you cared…!_

"Sakura, save that for later." Kakashi stopped Sakura before she could erupt into a series of curses not fit for someone so young. "Their claws are soaked in poison. We have to remove it quickly." Sakura brought her injured left hand up. Indeed, it was starting to sting a bit. "We need to open the wound and release the poisoned blood from your body. Don't move much, the poison will spread." She gritted her teeth. _Dammit…_

Kakashi turned to their client. "Tazuna-san."

"Y-yes?" he stammered, taking a step back in shock.

"I need to talk to you." He gestured over to the two ninjas now tied to the tree with a batch of thick rope. Kakashi peered over to see their forehead protectors. "A slash across the mark… these guys look like Hidden Mist missing-nins, probably around Chuunin level. Mist shinobi are known to continue fighting no matter what."

"Why… why were you able to read our movements?" one of them choked out in between his fit of coughs, still injured from Kakashi's blows.

"On a sunny day like this when it hasn't rained in days, there's not going to be a puddle." he replied. "You guys should've looked into the weather reports if you wanted to pull off a stunt like that.

Standing next to Kakashi, Tazuna looked at him in bewilderment. "If you knew that, why did you let the brats fight…?"

"If I wanted to, I could have killed these two instantly, but…" Kakashi narrowed his one eye and stared at Tazuna seriously. "There was something I needed to find out… who these two were after."

Tazuna stared back at Kakashi, not really understanding. "What do you mean?"

"Meaning… were they after you, or one of us. We haven't heard that there were shinobis after you… especially foreign missing-nins. Our mission was to simply protect you from thieves or gangs. This has now become at least a B-rank mission. Your request was just for simple protection until you completed the bridge."

The elderly bridge builder was unresponsive.

"If it was known that ninjas were after you, this mission would've been set as the more expensive B-rank mission. I'm sure you had a reason…" he carefully undertoned. "But it causes problems when you lie about the mission. We are now operating outside of our duties."

"I'm not sure if I fully understand…" Sasuke cut in. "But we need medicine for Sakura-san's…" he paused quickly before he corrected himself. "Er, Sakura's wound. We should at least go back to the village and take her to a doctor…"

"Hmm…" Kakashi cupped his chin and eyed Sakura, his vision focused on the hand she carefully cradled. "This might be too much… I guess we should return to the village to treat Sakura."

That was the last straw. Gritting her teeth as tight as she could, Sakura pulled out a kunai from her holster, raised it high above the air only to slam the sharp end back into her left hand. The stinging pain intensified, and was almost intolerable, but they would have to straddle over her dead body before she would admit that.

_Why… why is there so much of a difference? Why am I always… damn it! I don't need to be pampered!_ she barely heard Sasuke's worried shout, asked if she'd gone crazy. She ignored him. _I should be becoming stronger! I've completed many missions, and I practice jutsu every day by myself! I'll never be the damsel in distress ever again! I'm never going to be afraid, nor try to run away… and above all…_

She glared at the blonde boy who stared at her, looking a little disturbed. Her gaze then drifted over to her dark-haired teammate, his face full of concern. She tightened her grip on the kunai as she renewed her vow. _I won't lose to Naruto nor Sasuke! I'll show them! I'll swear it on this pain in my left hand!_

"We're continuing the mission!" she heartily declared.

* * *

Kakashi stared at his female subordinate a little longer before he resigned himself to a sigh. Kids these days… they were so rash, acting on instinct rather than logic, never thinking of the consequences. He scratched the behind of his silver-haired head a bit before he refocused his attention on her. "Umm, Sakura. It's good that you are releasing the poison, but…" 

"But?" she blinked once, a little confused.

"But any more and you'll die from blood loss."

A cold breeze passed through them. The birds in the backgrounds cheerfully chirped within the summer wind, adding a little humor to this already tense situation. It didn't take long for the pink-haired kunoichi standing a little distance away turn paler by the moment as the blood continued to freely pour out of her left hand. He approached her, a little cautious before he put a comforting hand on her shoulder. This time she didn't push it away. "We better stop it quickly or you'll be in danger. Seriously." he added with a touch of glee.

It had the desired effect he wanted. His student quickly settled into panic mode. "Ahhh! No, no! I can't die like this!" she scuttled about, looking almost as if she was ready to burst into tears.

"Here, let me see your hand…" he offered, and Sakura was quick to comply. Kakashi pulled out some white bandages from his tool pouch to wrap it around the wound as he carefully inspected her hand. His eyes widened at the sight before him. _The wound… _A thin, almost invisible steam of smoke rose from the cut, glowing a little before it closed itself up. _It is already healing…_

It took him a while before he noticed Sakura shaking in fear in front of him. "Ka-Kakashi-sensei? Am I all right? You look so… serious…"

"No, it's nothing. You should be fine." he answered, and a sigh of relief escaped from her lips. Kakashi quickly finished wrapping the bandages around her hand and tapped on it once for good measure after he was done. His student winced at this, and stuck her tongue out to him, her earlier appreciative behavior already gone to who knows where.

_The power of the Kyuubi, huh…? _he thought to himself, as the unwelcome tinge of sadness encompassed his body.

_Rin…_

"Excuse me, sensei."

He turned around. It was Tazuna.

"We need to talk."

* * *

_**It is painful to remember.**_

_**But it is also painful to forget.**_

_**- Uchiha Itachi**_

-

_**Tainted Demon Eyes**_

_**- Chapter Seven -**_

"**_Anji"_**

**_-END-_**

**_

* * *

Author's Notes: _**

I told myself I would get around to revising the first five chapters, but I found myself too lazy to do so and fixed the format only. Reading over it again, I see a lot of mistakes, especially so in Chapter One that makes the revised format look horrible. Ick. I will someday get around to fix them. Hopefully. It is a year old chapter, after all. It's due for some maintenance.

Chapter Seven was, again, rushed, for the sake of my readers, as per witnessed by the lack of deviation in the second half of the chapter. In my defense, however, it was REALLY hard to write (Mikoto scene especially). The Wave Country Arc that I had planned for this AU universe is, well… there really aren't many changes incorporated. I have an idea floating about my head to add in an AU element here and there that might just work, but as it stands, it's going to look pretty similar up to a certain point. orz

Although I am thankful to the people who have taken their time to review my work, I am a tiny bit disappointed at the fact I have been getting less and less reviews as the chapters progressed. However, it occurred to me that in order for stories to get more reviews, they must be captivating from the beginning. I realize now that this story fails to do so as the actual AU portion of the story begins more so in Chapter Three. I had actually considered deleting the first two chapters, especially the first where it has little original content. However, in order for the whole story to function properly, the background information given in the first and second chapters are very important for the sake of the plot, so I cannot delete them. Hopefully my eventual revision will correct that mistake and I will get myself more readers, and consequently, more reviewers.

As I said before, I am not really good at fight scenes as it had came out short yet again. I really admire other authors who can go into such detail for such scenes. I find my style of writing getting to the actual point too soon, and details are left for the readers to imagine. I think my best abilities as a writer is thinking of the actual plot rather than the practice. The lack of a beta on my part hurts a little, too…

Okay, enough ranting. Again, reviews, comments, criticism… or rather, anything that can fuel my passion to continue this fic are most welcome!

Thanks for reading!

- Nes Mikel

_**

* * *

Japanese Word Translations in Chapter Seven (in order of appearance): **_

**_san_ **_– _attached after a name, it is a way of calling people out of respect. It could mean "Mr", "Miss" or "Mrs".

**_genin _**– novice-class ninjas on the ninja hierarchy.

**_neechan _**– affectionate way of calling someone "older sister".

**_kunai _**– small, metallic daggers used by ninjas. Mostly used as throwing weapons, but unlike shuriken it could also be used as melee weapons.

**_shuriken _**– a small, star-shaped, quadruple-bladed throwing weapon used by ninjas. However, shuriken's shape and size can vary widely. The example I gave in this explanation is just the most common form of shrunken.

**_kun _**– attached after a name, basically it's used to call someone who is younger than you or about the same age. What makes it confusing is that it's used in some other situations that is rather hard to explain.

**_senpai – _**term used to call your senior in the same field

**_taichou – _**captain

**_ne_** – literal translation is "root". In "Naruto", this is a name of an actual ANBU squad.

**_miko_** – shrine maiden

**_sensei _**– teacher

**_jounin_** – expert-class ninjas on the ninja hierarchy

**_hokage _**– literal translation is "shadow of fire". Title given to the leaders of the Hidden Leaf.

**_aniki _**– means "older brother". Used among siblings to call their older brothers.

**_anbu_** – literal translation: "dark squad". In "Naruto" these are elite ninja squads that accomplish the most dangerous missions such as assassinations. They sort of act like military police too.

**_dango _**– a traditional Japanese sweet/snack. Packed full of stuff called 'anko', which I'm not exactly sure what it's made out of.

**_ichiraku _**– a ramen stand in "Naruto". Literal translation is "easy one". I think. Could be wrong.

**_kunoichi _**– female ninjas. Literal translation is "nine is one." If one combines the three kanji's (one of the three types of the Japanese alphabet) that make up the word kunoichi, it becomes another kanji that means "woman".

**_shinobi _**– literal translation is "those who stealth". Another word for ninjas.

**_kage _**– shadow

**_mizukage_** – lit trans: "shadow of water". Title given to the leaders of the Hidden Mist.

**_raikage_** – lit trans: "shadow of thunder". Title given to the leaders of the Hidden Cloud.

**_kazekage_** – lit trans: "shadow of wind". Title given to the leaders of the Hidden Sand.

**_tsuchikage_** – lit trans: "shadow of earth". Title given to the leaders of the Hidden Stone.

**_chakra _**– one of the seven centers of spiritual energy in the human body according to yoga philosophy. This is in real life, by the way. In "Naruto" they are the necessary spiritual energy you need to perform ninjutsu, genjutsu (illusion techniques), certain forms of taijutsu (physical combat techniques), and blood-limit techniques (inheritance techniques).

**_giga: hebi no sho_** – literal translation is "counterfeit: chapter of snake". An original technique created for this fanfic, but is based off a real one. One of the many variations of the _giga_ series techniques. Unlike chouju giga which requires for the drawings to be written on the spot, these scrolls have prewritten drawings on them that can be materialized with necessary seals and chakra. However, this technique requires excessive preparation work, requires a little more chakra compared to the original, and is a one-time use only.

**_kawarimi _**– replacement

**_jutsu _**– technique

**_chuunin _**– intermediate-class ninjas on the ninja hierarchy.

**_kyuubi _**– lit trans: "nine tails".


	8. Bridge Over Troubled Water

"**_Tainted Demon Eyes"_**

_By Nes Mikel_

_Acknowledgment;_

_I herby acknowledge that the work of fiction presented here is for my own personal amusement and entertainment purposes alone. Most of the story, characters, place names and other etc stuff in this fiction are copyright Naruto, Kishimoto Masashi, Weekly Shounen Jump, and any others I might have forgot. Enjoy._

_**

* * *

**_

- Chapter Eight -

"**_Bridge Over Troubled Water"_**

"_I guess there is no fooling a true shinobi." – Gatoh

* * *

_

"It's about this mission."

Prying her eyes away from the bandaged hand she cradled, Sakura looked at Tazuna who was talking to Kakashi, a little curious about what he was about to say. "You're right." the elderly man said, his face austere. "This job is most likely outside your scope of duties. The truth is… a super dangerous man is after my life."

"A super dangerous man?" Kakashi eyed Tazuna with the corner of his eye. The bridge builder nodded back.

"Who?"

"You've probably at least heard of his name before." Tazuna sighed. "The wealthy shipping magnate… a man named Gatoh."

As Tazuna continued, Sakura started to understand just how serious this C-rank mission was turning out to be. Gatoh, Tazuna explained, was one of the world's few extremely wealthy people that officially ran the famous Gatoh Shipping Company. But in secret, he sells drugs and other illegal items using ninjas and gangs to take over rival businesses and even small countries. The Country of Wave where Tazuna hailed from was one of the latest places the very ruthless, power-hungry businessman had set his eyes on. Through money and violence, he quickly took control of the entire country's shipping industry, granting him a monopoly on all business traffic in the country. The only thing he had to fear now was the completion of the bridge.

"Ah, I see!" Sakura slowly nodded her head up and down in understanding. "So since you're building the bridge, you're in the way!" she shouted out her conclusion rather loudly.

"So that means those ninjas were hired by Gatoh?" Sasuke asked as his gaze drifted over to the two Mist missing-nins still tied to the tree.

"Most likely." Naruto commented, his back to the bark of a nearby tree. "Still, there's one thing I don't understand…"

"Yes, if you knew ninjas could be after you, then why did you hide that fact when you hired us?" Kakashi asked the question for Naruto instead, hands stroking his chin in a thoughtful manner.

"The Wave Country… is super poor." Tazuna answered, his eyes downcast. "Even the Feudal Lord has no money. Of course, we don't have much money either. Not enough for the expensive B-rank mission." he turned his eyes away from the ground and put on his best glittering smile for the four confused ninjas in front of him to see. "If you quit the mission now, I'll definitely be killed, but don't worry! If I die, my cute ten-year old grandson will just cry for a few days! Oh, and my daughter will live a sad life hating Leaf Village ninjas forever! But it won't be your fault! Not at all! Hahahahahaha!"

Needless to say, the group was left with no choice but to protect the conning bridge builder, at least until they got their client safely back to his country.

Although annoyed, one pink-haired kunoichi was happy at these turns of events, much unlike her teacher who was dreading the next encounter of hunters who would most likely be at Jounin-level. For Sakura, though, she thought this was the prefect opportunity to redeem herself for her earlier failures, still totally unaware just how dangerous her future trials were going to be. Skipping a little along the way, Sakura and the not-so merry band of five carried onwards with their journey.

* * *

Inside a deep, dark forest somewhere between the borders of Fire and Wave, an otherwise confident voice gasped sharply in surprise as it realized that they had been followed. Raising its right arm, palm flat, the leader of the pack signaled the other two to stop, and stepped forward uneasily, staring into the unknown darkness trying to locate their stalker. No such luck. "Who the hell are you?" the leader shouted, its voice feminine. "Come on out before we-" 

_Slice._

_Drip._

_Drip drip._

"W-what the f-"

_Crack._

_Thud._

"CAPTAIN! Damn it, you bi-"

_Swish._

_Slam._

_Thud thud._

A sharp kick and a jab had silenced their burst of revenge as the remaining two wordlessly fell to the ground, joining their comrade on the dirt floor. Still partially concealed within the enveloping shadows, a figure silently emerged from behind the thick canopy of trees and stood over the fallen, maintaining some distance as it studied them with its hard brown eyes. Tense face muscles relaxed a bit. The figure then sighed.

_That was too easy._

A quick glance confirmed that one of them was dead; one of its arms was sliced off from the initial attack, and the neck was bent in an unnatural angle from the follow-up kick, so much so that it was hopeless to expect it still alive. Good. A tad curious, the executioner walked over to the victim and bent down in front of the body, reaching out with its left hand towards the mask that covered the dead shinobi's face. Equipped on that left hand's fifth finger, a small ring: a single jewel in the center with the kanji letter _Ku _inscribed.

The figure pulled the mask off the corpse and carefully set it down on the ground. Behind the white mask was the face of a woman, the insignia of the Mist engraved on the protector tied over her light blue hair. It was a pretty little thing, young and full of life just moments ago, now so deathly pale and lifeless, a thin stream of blood flowing from her thin immobile lips. Her glazed eyes were wide, no doubt from the trauma and confusion that ran through her brain seconds before the red-clouded death crouching in front of her had erased her life. Judging from their earlier actions and reactions, she appeared to be the squad captain of this pitiful three-man team. Well, that made things a little more convenient at least.

The figure stood up, and then turned towards the other two members of the group, still lying unconscious on the ground. Judging from their broad shoulders and well-toned muscles, they both appeared to be male. Their bodies twitched periodically and their fists were clenched in a tight knot, indicating that they were still alive. _Even unconscious they still show the will to fight._ _I guess the Mist shinobi aren't known to keep on fighting no matter what for nothing._

Still, the only reason they were even still alive was because the cloaked figure had let them. Their pathetic lives had a purpose to fulfill, and that can only be done if they were alive. Well, that wasn't exactly true, it still could've been done with or without their lives but it would've been more of a hassle without. _Can't have that, can we?_

Still, the figure was disappointed at how this was all too easy. Not in the sense that the robed figure thought that this was a trap. It was too easy because they were so miserably weak. Did the Hidden Village of the Mist's shinobi quality become so low they had resorted to calling these as hunter-nins? Even that idiot Shark Man would've been able to kill these three without ever using that oh-so favorite popsicle stick of his in two seconds flat

_Oh well… let's get this over and done with._

Cutting through the now-voiceless stillness that surrounded the thick forest, the figure chanted something in a quiet voice, hands flying through a set of complicated seals. Kneading the necessary chakra, the figure then pushed the clasped hands slimly forward as it unleashed the technique upon the two unconscious men.

"_Shouten no Jutsu."_

The two figures lying on the ground suddenly started to pulse, only for their entire bodies to soon erupt into a violent uncontrollable shudder. They rolled over left and right on their backs, survival instinct kicking in, clutching their heads painfully in a useless struggle to deny the entities that were slowly taking over their bodies. It was in vain; their visible physical forms soon flickered then wavered, changing and undergoing metamorphosis. The mysterious figure continued to stand above them, solemnly observing the effects of the technique. Although the figure could not see their expressions of the men that withered in agony beneath its feet due to their white masks, it could very well imagine the face of one locked in painful agony, vocal cords failing, jaws carved in a silent scream. Still cloaked within the shadows, the figure licked its lips in pleasure, reveling in the carnage.

Minutes passed by before the horrific scene suddenly came to a stop. Their bodies reacted violently one last time before they went stiff, and eventually still. The jutsu was complete. Ever so calmly, the previously immobile two silently rose from the ground, wiping off specks of dirt that had attached to their Mist issued hunter-nin uniforms, acting as if nothing had happened. The biggest difference however, was although their clothes remained the same they clearly were no longer the same people. Their changed hairstyles were proof enough. One of them crooked its neck, testing its synchronization with the host. "Tsk, couldn't you find someone better?" it said. "This body is a piece of shit."

Hissing in anger, the cloaked figure took a step forward and stepped out of the shadows. Emerging into the thin rays of the high noon sun that broke through the overgrowth, it was a woman. She appeared to be somewhere in her late-twenties, with strawberry blond hair and eyes a deep shade of brown. She wore on her forehead a protector with a carved line across the symbol of Leaf, signifying that she no longer held allegiance to that Hidden Village – the mark of a missing-nin. Her long hair was tied into two separate pigtails behind her back, the longer ends concealed within the insides of the large cloak with red clouds. The designs were stitched in a seemingly random pattern, somehow presenting itself with a strange aura of intimidation. Normally, such a large cloak would've made it difficult to tell the owner's gender apart, but the unmistakable line of a bust could clearly be seen beneath. It was an indication of just how large they were. With malicious hatred, the woman glared back at the offender. "Would you have preferred if I used one of your subordinates instead?" she asked, her face crooked in fury.

The man that had spoken, the shorter of the two standing in front of her snorted at her words, obviously not intimated with her threatening attitude. "Takes at least five days to get them transported from Sand to here."

"Then make do with what you have." the woman retorted, the corner of her eye twitching as she struggled to hold back the anger boiling within. Oh how she hated this bastard. She would've loved to punch him in the face, throw him over her shoulders a few hundred meters, and pound him into the ground with her fists and kill him. Too bad the one in front her was only an imitation and her efforts would only be a waste of chakra.

"Hey hey, settle down now, danna, hime. No need to be like that… yeah." the taller of the two eased into the conversation, his hands childishly flailing in the air in an attempt to settle down the two who were ready to kill each other in a moment's notice if need be. He was a strange one. If one looked carefully, one could see that he possessed abnormal hands – he had a thin, as-if carved line on both of his palms that looked similar to an old scar. The biggest surprise however was that the 'scar' on his left hand was slightly ajar, and an appendage that looked awfully like a tongue hung loose from the small opening.

The taller man's attempt at calming the two down was met with disapproval when the shorter man huffed at his attempt. "Stop that _Sei. _You look like an idiot."

The accused man turned to his partner and was about to say something in return but one look at the shorter red-haired man's glare had changed his mind. "Fine, fine, danna. I'll stop. Yeah." the man wearing the ring of _Sei_ muttered bitterly instead as he ceased waving. He brushed the large bundle of dirty blonde hair away that covered his entire left face as he removed his Mist hunter-nin mask, then brought a hand up to the strange machinery that was attached above his left eye and fiddled around with it to see if it were functional.

The woman was now wondering to herself if it were such a wise idea to summon for their help in the first place. She was a tad annoyed at how the youngest member of her little group could be so immature at times, and how insulting and uncooperative the other can be. True, she had to admit that the tall blond man was valuable because he was the one who kept the balance between their awkward group of three, whereas the shorter man could essentially function as a one-man army and was capable of wiping out a large group of foes within seconds. Still, if it weren't for the stupid rule that discouraged killing between members, she would've murdered that red-haired puppet bastard eons ago with or without the blond man's interference. Well, that will change. Eventually. But they didn't need to know that.

Finished with his adjustments, the strange blond man then turned to the woman with a large grin on his face. "So!" he clasped his hands once. "Tsunade-hime, what now?" he asked.

She should've expected something like that, coming from him. "Deidara…" the large woman disapprovingly eyed the playful man, her fists tightening.

"Oh come on." the man referred to as Deidara replied as he held his shoulders up in a shrug. "It's not like anyone's listening, do we really have to call each other by codenames, yeah? Don't you think so too?" he turned to the short red-haired man that stood to his immediate right. "Sasori-danna. Yeah."

The man called Sasori that carried the kanji of _Gyoku_ said nothing, but shot a glare back at Deidara in a look that screamed 'don't-involve-me-in-this-conversation-or-I-will-kill-you' kind of attitude. After he was sure his intended message was noticed, he removed his own mask and glanced over at the seemingly forgotten body on the floor. "What are you going to do about that?" he indicated to the corpse with his chin.

"Do you want me to blow it up, yeah?" Deidara was quick to offer, a large smile plastered on his face, grinning like the fool he was. He was always the eager one, always wanting to show his capability with his explosives and the resulting explosion he called art.

Sasori huffed at his words yet again. "You don't have your clay here, dumbass." he commended.

Deidara again was about to say something back before his shoulders slumped, realizing the truth in his partner's words. "You're so mean, Sasori-danna!" he whined. He staggered back and crisscrossed his hands above his heart feigning hurt, going so far to even have a little tear in his eye. Sasori naturally ignored him.

Rolling her eyes at the exchange, Tsunade approached the fallen female hunter-nin and crouched down in front of her on her knees. Opening her mouth wide, Tsunade's teeth then morphed into sharp fangs, and in a flash bit down into the neck of the dead woman. A sick, slurping sound echoed quietly in the forest as she drank the blood, the victim's form then suddenly shriveling, becoming smaller and smaller as the life-blood was drained from its body. Soon, a large gasp sounded as Tsunade breathed in a fresh batch of air, her evil task done, flicking her tongue around her lips as she scooped up and savored the last drops of the red liquid. Tsunade had sucked the body dry; the white mask set down on the ground and the now-empty pile of clothes were the only remaining items it left behind. An impressed, whistling sound broke the tense silence. "Damn, no matter how many times I see that it never gets old… yeah."

Ignoring Deidara, Tsunade stood up, and closed her eyes as she felt the new blood flow through her veins. She shuddered a bit from the cold that washed over her as the transformation slowly took place: the shape of her face, her hair, and even her entire body structure changed bit by bit, until she was finally the perfect resemblance of the woman she had killed just moments ago. Reopening her eyes, she brought up one of her now slimmer hands, forming a half-seal. A cloud of smoke erupted around her, and when it cleared she was now wearing a Mist hunter-nin uniform that mirrored the one on the ground. She formed another different half-seal, and the clothes on the ground erupted into a sudden burst of flame. After the ball of fire had eaten away the last of the materials, the ashes scattered into the wind, all evidence of what had transpired earlier now gone.

"Now that the old hag seems to be done…" Sasori began, his words quickly catching the attention of the now very ticked off Tsunade. "Mind explaining why you have called us here using the Shouten? You gave us little notice and hardly any explanation after our last meeting was interrupted."

Tsunade resisted the urge to snap back at him using all of her remaining patience she still had left in her. Flicking the long blue strands of her transformed hair out of her face, she began her explanation. "This Mist hunter-nin team was the one that got a hold of the information that the millionaire Gatoh had hired Zabuza. This team was about to meet with the informer who is actually Gatoh himself to pry more information off him and to perhaps strike a deal with him."

"How'd you get this information? Yeah."

"One of Gatoh's men is my spy." she answered Deidara's question. "So I decided to eliminate the hunter-nin team and assume their identity, and meet with this Gatoh ourselves. I figured that we could plan our strategy from there."

"Without our consent?" asked Sasori. His eyebrows were creased, obviously annoyed at how Tsunade had acted on her own accord yet again. Still, he realized that this was quickly going nowhere if he kept on bickering with the old hag, so instead he turned his attention away and uncaringly started into the depths of the woods. "Never mind. Just lead us to the meeting place."

Thankful that Sasori had decided to smarten up, Tsunade nodded. Picking up the white hunter-nin mask on the ground, she put it back on her face. "Follow me." she said, and disappeared into the deep shadows of the forest. The remaining two mirrored her actions and reequipped their masks, following their female partner with mild haste.

* * *

In the same forest not so far away, one particular man was not in his best of moods. Him, the president of the famed Gatoh Shipping Company, him, the mastermind and don of the regional underworld had just been threatened and intimidated by one missing-nin. Wearing his black business suit and his trademark circular-framed sunglasses, his small frame was shaking in anger as he steadily walked through the forest along with his two bodyguards. 

No one messes with Gatoh and gets away with it. No one.

After he was sure he walked a considerable distance away from the hideout of that missing-nin that called himself Zabuza, he called for his bodyguards. "Zouri! Waraji!" he lashed at them, still irritated. "How much longer?"

"Our scheduled rendezvous point is close, Gatoh-sama." the smaller of the two bodyguards replied. The samurai's name was Zouri. He was relatively new to the underground organization Gatoh ran, but the gray-haired youth with the thin red eyeliner was strong and paralleled his elder senior Waraji in terms of skill and strength with the long katana blade. Noting this, Gatoh had quickly acknowledged his strength with the deadly tool and made him into his personal bodyguard and aide. The rich man adored strength above all else, and the young man that wore the purple wool cap, the bulky jacket and the long sheath of his sword on his left waist had gained his respect and trust after defending his life at least half a dozen times.

His counterpart, Waraji, scoffed at partner's words but said nothing more. He had no love for this newcomer and only put up with him because he was evenly matched with the sword he carried within the sheath strapped to his right waist. The eye patch that covered his right eye was there to cover the wound Zouri had given him in a duel that started when Waraji accused him of being a suck-up to their boss that ultimately ended in a draw because their employer had ordered them to stop. Waraji was a true professional mercenary, and valued money above honor, and had wisely chosen to obey. However, although he would never admit it, Waraji was actually thankful that Gatoh interrupted the match; had it continued, he wasn't sure if he would still be standing here alive. Since then, the large man with random tattoos etched in his exposed skin was cautious around Zouri and watched his every move, not trusting him one bit, but wisely stayed out of his way lest he repeat the shame of their last duel.

The trio walked through the dark woods a little longer before Zouri came to a sudden halt in the middle of a small grass clearing. He took a small circular mirror from one of the many outer pockets of his jacket and held it high in the air, tilting it in an angle in such a way that reflected sunlight in a crooked bend. He flickered it around for a moment longer, signaling to their contacts that they were here.

"Gatoh I presume?" the unexpected voice suddenly came.

Caught unprepared, the businessman jumped a little in surprise. Zouri dropped the mirror and the hands of the two bodyguards immediately went for the hilts of their katanas but paused when they noticed the three figures sitting on top of the tree branches. White mask covered their faces and an unscathed insignia of the Hidden Mist were carved on top. Their contacts had finally arrived.

Gatoh barely managed to suppress his growl. "You're late." He made sure to watch his tongue. He didn't want to make enemies out of true professional ninjas such as hunter-nins.

"On the contrary, you're late, Mister Gatoh." the woman that had spoken promptly jumped off from the branch and landed silently in front of them. Not looking ruffled in the slightest from the rather long fall, she stared at him coldly. "Let's skip the pleasantries. We want information."

"Hmph. Very well." Gatoh took a small silver case out from the insides of his suit and pulled out a branded cigarette from the case and snapped his fingers. Zouri was by his side in an instant, taking out a lighter and setting the end of the cigarette aflame. Gatoh took a long drag from his cigarette. "I'm sure you're familiar with my… 'business'." he said, his voice cordial.

"We are aware." the woman confirmed.

"There are two things that are currently preventing me from having total dominance over the Country of Wave." he explained. "One of them," he held up one finger. "Is the bridge that the old fool named Tazuna is trying so desperately to build despite my generous 'offers'. The other," he held up another finger. "Is the small band of thieves this Zabuza fellow is leading."

The Mist-nin in front of him nodded, urging him to continue.

"We're not sure when they first settled down in this region." Gatoh said. "It was only about two months ago before my shipping routes started to suffer from routine theft and sabotage. The losses were minimal at first but over the weeks they started to mount and I was starting to lose men from the attacks and even had products originally destined for the Black Market stolen." he flicked the ashes at the end of his cigarette and ground them into the grass floor with the flat of his feet. "Oh, of course I tried to take care of the problem myself by sending out a few of my own men. Naturally, none of them came back alive. It was around this time I decided to contact this band of thieves and try to negotiate a probable solution."

Gatoh paused a bit as he took another long drag from his cigarette. He breathed out a large plume of white smoke before he sighed. "However… to me, negotiations was out of the question. Do you know why, Miss…?" he trailed off, unsure of what to call the hunter-nin.

"You may call me Ku."

Gatoh nodded. "Miss Ku, I am a businessman. I like it when things are run like clockwork, and nothing bothers me more than a thorn in the side that prevents my operations from running smoothly. The bridge is one such thorn, and this Zabuza that betrayed _your_ village," he dragged the word out, making sure his displeasure was noted. "Is another. Even if I had negotiated a solution with his merry band of thieves I know how things will end – one way or another it will bite me up the ass and the result will not be pretty."

"A wise decision."

He dismissed that comment with a wave of his hand. "The fact of the matter is, Miss, I want him removed. Once I had learned of his identity, I immediately contacted the Hidden Mist, and they promised me they would send a team of hunters. I presume you three," he pointed his fingers at each and every single one of them. "Are it."

"That is correct." the female replied. "However, there is one thing we must confirm with you before we proceed with our mission, Mister Gatoh."

He was not prepared for this. "What is it?"

"If you did indeed think that negotiation was out of the question," her cold eyes glared from behind the mask. "Then why did you hire him?"

One of Gatoh's eyebrows rose, not expecting the question at all. He tried to play it off. "I guess there is no fooling a true shinobi. However, I was going to get to that."

"_Do_ indulge."

He shivered at the cold tongue, but did his best to ignore it. "It was my way of killing two birds with one stone, Miss Ku." he explained. "I hired him to eliminate the bridge builder Tazuna – I explained this earlier already, but he was proving to be a hindrance. I promised Zabuza that we would not come after him and also split a small share of my profits if he decided to carry out this job for me. He agreed, and that meant it would at least put a stop to his sabotage operations for the time being. If he succeeded I would've eliminated one problem without having to lift a finger, whereas your three would sweep in to take care of the other." Gatoh waved his hands forward in a sweeping motion. "We all walk away happy. However…"

"However?" she questioned.

"Just a small problem." Gatoh admitted as he dropped his cigarette, his hands shoved deep into the pockets, his own personal way of easing discomfort. "Tazuna hired Leaf ninjas for protection. Zabuza's men ambushed them once already but they failed. I know some of Zabuza's men; they are pretty capable in their own right despite the insults I threw at him back in his hideout. I assume the old man hired some pretty capable ninjas from the Leaf." he added.

The woman didn't seem phased with it at all. "That is of no consequence. We will deal with it if they prove a hindrance." she answered as if it were something written in stone.

"Just hear me out. I'm sure the next bit I'm going to tell you will interest you." Gatoh said, earning a slight raise of a cheek from the hunter-nin, now obviously curious at what he was going to say. "Zabuza promised me he would take care of Tazuna himself. Alone. They should be somewhere past the border by now. Probably near the local fishing port to catch a small ferry to the mainland."

Gatoh tried to somehow determine the reaction the hunter-nin gave when he revealed the information that would no doubt work to their advantage if they wanted to succeed in their mission to kill Zabuza, but the shinobi in front of him remained unreadable and continued to be silent. Assuming that she had heard him, he continued. "Now, concerning this, I will like to ask you a favor…"

"That's where you're mistaken, Mister Gatoh." the female ninja interrupted him suddenly, her stare intensifying that sent chills down his spine. "Our orders are to simply eliminate Momochi Zabuza. We are not obligated to involve ourselves with your 'business'." she quickly turned around and aptly started to walk away. "This Mist is thankful for your cooperation. We will now take our leave."

"Just hear me out!" he raised his voice and stopped the woman. She half-turned and glared at the man who had clearly stepped out of line. Gatoh, truly frightened, took a step back and bumped into the chests of his taller bodyguard guarding his flank. "A-all I ask… is to not interfere until Zabuza kills Tazuna! I mean, if you have an opportunity, sure, kill him, but I would still like to ask you to wait until you're sure Zabuza is going to be defeated by the Leaf bodyguards Tazuna hired. If I have to, I will take care of Tazuna myself, but I'd like to avoid incident if I can. I mean, it can work to your advantage. One way or another I'm sure he'll exhaust himself!"

He saw the woman's eyes become narrow slits behind her mask, seemingly contemplating his words. When they returned to normal, she turned her back and resumed her walking. "We will consider it." she said simply before she jumped high into the air and landed next to her two teammates who were waiting for her on the branch. "Gyoku, Sei. Let's go." With that, they disappeared in a flurry of leaves and their presence vanished from the clearing completely.

The multimillionaire sighed. He always thought ninjas were always more troublesome to deal with compared with their status counterparts. Samurais were much more simple to handle, all it took was enough money and they would gladly throw their so-called honor away to dirty their hands for the silver and gold rewards. Nonetheless, Gatoh smiled a sly smile as he walked away from the clearing with his two bodyguards, a little satisfied how his little problems will soon be taken care of.

Gatoh would've never imagined that he was actually dealing with the very people that had already eliminated the real team that had been sent from the Mist, although they shared the same intentions to kill Zabuza albeit for different reasons. However, he also would've never imagined that the people he was trying to stab in the back had already foiled his plans as the figure hidden behind the shadows of the taller trees silently left the scene.

* * *

The large man was still sitting on the couch when the youngest of his men walked through the door of his hideout. 

"Well?" he asked, batting an eyelash.

"Is it as you expected, Zabuza-san." the boy answered as he removed his mask, his black eyes and innocent face curved in a sad smile. "I followed them to a clearing where they held conference with three Mist hunter-nins. Gatoh has indeed sold us out."

"Hmph." the missing-nin huffed, not overly surprised at the revelation. "Perhaps we have stayed at one place too long."

"Zabuza-san." the eyebrowless man looked up and stared into the serious face of the boy, now with a determined look on his face. He saw the boy's grip tighten around the mask. "You only have to give me the word…"

"Killing him will do no good, Haku." he calmed the boy. Haku always became so emotional when it came to matters concerning him. It was something that Zabuza had, without shame, used to his advantage all these years, getting him out of tights spots and his near brushes with death itself. Without his help, he knew he wouldn't have survived this long. For the boy to go such lengths to protect his master, Zabuza was that valuable of a person to Haku. And although he will never admit it publicly, Haku was that valuable of a person for Zabuza as well. Although Haku was not his son by blood, Zabuza imagined their relationship something similar if he ever would've had such a thing called family.

He made a promise with his best friend, after all. And he intended to keep it.

Still, there was this immediate problem needed to take care of. Although he had told Haku that killing Gatoh would do more harm than good, he almost reconsidered his decision. There was no telling what the blabbermouth will do if he was still alive, and above all the man was rich, and if he wanted he was sure he could hire a platoon of mercenaries and ninjas after him. Although the former could be dealt with easily the latter would pose a small problem. Moving away and going into hiding would have been the best option especially now that all of his men besides this boy in front of him had ran away after he had told them there were most likely missing-nin after them. Cowards. He should've killed them but he let them go, although that would only increase the possibility of them selling him out not that it mattered anymore. Still, it was the only way he could pay them back for their faithful services they offered in the small three-month period they were together as they launched attacks on Gatoh's operations. For him and Haku to live, Zabuza was ready to do anything, even sinking to low depths such as thievery.

_Hmph. The Devil of the Hidden Mist sure has gotten soft…_

However, his men had been right in running away. Hunter-nins were much worse of a problem than Gatoh was or his band of mercenary samurai combined. They needed to be dealt with first, and fast. He had thought they learned their lesson after they had barely dealt with the previous batch all those years ago. For the Mist to send in a mere there-man team, they seemed to be highly underestimating their capabilities – although he had to admit they only got out of that mess because of something he really didn't want to remember. Nonetheless, the hunter-nins were still a dangerous element to consider.

"Haku," he broke the tense silence as he looked into the eyes of the boy and questioned him. "What's your estimates on the strengths of the hunters?"

"I only got a glance at them… but from the way they carried themselves about, I would think they are quite strong." Haku answered. "If I can manage an ambush, I can probably take out one of them, but I doubt I can take all three out at the same time, unless I…"

Haku didn't have to say anything more than that. Zabuza knew what he was about to say, and he didn't like it. In fact, neither of them liked to consider that option, and only reserved it as a last resort. He thought hard. Even if they could find a way to take out those hunter-nins, it would only stall the Mist temporarily as he was sure they could and would find them again. They had been under their radar for the longest time but when Gatoh blew their cover, the short-lived moment of peace forever ended and he had no doubt the Hidden Mist will be after them with renewed vigor.

There was only one option.

"Haku, do you know who the bridge builder hired for protection?"

Haku looked confused, but he answered the question nonetheless. "Leaf ninjas."

Village of the Hidden Leaf. Not too bad. Zabuza slowly raised himself from the couch much to the young boy's surprise and heaved the giant cleaver sword over his shoulder. "I'm going to meet them." he said simply before he straddled over to the exit of the small room.

"But Zabuza-san…!" the boy protested, startled. "There's no need to fight them, Gatoh has betrayed us!"

He put a hand on his Haku's shoulder, reassuring him. "Don't worry." he smiled behind the bandages that covered his mouth. "I have a plan." he hoisted and positioned the sword onto his back and crouched down low in front of his remaining subordinate. "Now, listen carefully…"

* * *

There were six people present in the meeting that took place in the small clearing just earlier. Tsunade and Gatoh did all the talking; Zouri and Waraji stayed behind their employer and were ready to protect him had the woman tried anything, whereas Deidara and Sasori sat on the tree branches observing the entire conversation from a little distance, the former excited and the latter totally bored. Of the six, only one of them had noticed Haku, the uninvited seventh, spy on them from beginning to end. 

Deidara.

As he ran through the woods trailing behind the two to their latest destination to kill the protector of their 'target', he was grinning from ear to ear, and only the mask he wore for the whole Mist hunter-nin getup had prevented his teammates from seeing that sinister smile. Deidara, despite his childish antics and silly behavior, possessed observational skills and brains that easily surpassed his two comrades, a fact he kept well hidden from both of them. It was one of the reasons why he had survived this long in an organization full of S-rank criminals even he wasn't one himself (yet) and even had landed himself in one of the most important positions within.

For now, he kept quiet about the discovery. Letting Sasori or Tsunade know about the white-masked boy that spied on them during the entire meeting with Gatoh would ruin everything. He wanted this to be a surprise, and he was sure the boy would certainly make things interesting. He couldn't wait to see what Zabuza and company would try now they knew there were people after them. Deidara liked fun. And fun was what he was going to get. Nothing pleased him better than seeing someone's – in this case Tsunade's – plans blow up in their face.

You see, Deidara's explosions of art weren't just limited to physical ones.

He enjoyed mental ones too.

* * *

Wave Country wasn't exactly all what Sakura imagined it to be. Judging from the name, she had figured it was famous for its beaches and such but in reality it was just a shabby country that was formed as a result of a union between several small and poor island nations, and it turned out they were named after the tidal waves that occasionally assaulted their costal lines. Not a very cheerful name, that one. Then again, Fire Country was named after the famous forest fires that sprung up every summer season, so she wasn't really in the position to accuse the Wave inhabitants for naming their country after a natural disaster. 

So far, the only thing that truly impressed her on the journey was when she had first set sight of the huge bridge that Tazuna was building. She was so mesmerized with it, she had shouted out rather loudly only to be quickly hushed by the man who was generous enough to risk his ferry career to give them a free ride to the mainland. Quickly biting her tongue, a little embarrassed for acting out of line, she remained quiet the rest of the trip.

The boat rocked gently as it carefully navigated through the waves, hidden in the shadows of the giant bridge to avoid detection. They avoided the use of the gasoline engine and were instead rowing through the water, employing stealth since it would be nothing but trouble if Gatoh's men had found them now. Kakashi told them that he preferred to avoid unnecessary confrontations if he could, and their client agreed – much to the chagrin of Sakura. She wanted an opportunity to prove herself, and they were taking one such opportunity away from her.

"We'll be there soon." the ferryman announced, his voice a hoarse whisper. "Tazuna, it looks like we've avoided detection so far, but… just in case, we'll take the route that has vegetation. It'll make it harder for them to spot us."

The elderly bridge builder nodded his appreciation. "Thanks."

The rowboat that carried the group entered a small archway, dimly lighted by the florescent lights above. The tunnel was dark but they soon erupted into light as the mist that had been haunting them the entire boat ride suddenly cleared, the full view of a small town coming into focus. Above the water half-submerged trees grew that provided them the necessary cover as they advanced through, and there wasn't that much land for them to see as most of the houses were built on top of wooden barges and walkways. The atmosphere was rather dark; Sakura didn't see a single person in sight and from the looks of things the houses were poorly built by patches of spare material that could've been found anywhere in the dumps. The boat approached one such house and unloaded the crew on the barge. "This is it for me." the ferryman said. "Good bye… and good luck."

"Yeah. Super thanks." Tazuna said, a little sad look in his eyes.

Wordlessly the ferryman yanked the previously unused engine to life and quickly departed from the scene. After seeing him off, Tazuna turned to the group and laughed uneasily. "Ok! I expect you guys to get me home safely!"

Kakashi sighed. "Yes, yes."

For a while, they continued to walk in total silence until Sakura found herself walking on hard ground again after they left the town borders. She kept on reminding to herself that her chances of redemption would come, glancing from time to time at Naruto and Sasuke besides her. She made a vow right there, swearing to herself that she wouldn't let them hog the spotlight any longer. It was then when she noticed that Sasuke to her right was staring ahead, some weird expression on his face. Before she could ask what was wrong with him, he suddenly reacted, a shuriken in his hand. "There!" he shouted as he threw it with deadly accuracy towards the bushes behind.

Nothing happened.

"…heh, just a rat." Sasuke said as he coolly brushed his bangs with the wave of his hand.

"Stop trying to act cool, you idiot! There is nothing there!" Sakura shouted as she took a satisfying whack at the idiotic macho's head.

"Ow!" he protested. "But Sakura, I swear, there's somebody after us!"

"Yeah right!" she rolled her eyes as she and Kakashi made their way over the bushes to retrieve the stray shuriken. She found it immediately, only to see a poor snow-white rabbit knocked unconscious from shock when the shuriken embedded itself on the trees centimeters away from its head. "Oh my god!" she shouted as she cradled the rabbit on her thighs. "Sasuke, look what you've done!"

Sasuke strolled over to her, his eyes wide and apologetic as Sakura continued to scold him for his idiotic behavior. She was about to launch into another string of insults before she heard her teacher shout suddenly. "Everybody GET DOWN!"

Realizing the urgency in his voice, Sakura immediately ducked down and pulled Sasuke face-first into the dirt floor with a violent and satisfying yank at his shirt. She felt a swirl of wind as she saw the gigantic sword spinning in the air overhead, narrowly missing all of their heads. She looked to her left to see Naruto tackling Tazuna down into the ground, evading danger. Had Kakashi not shouted out his warning, she was sure at least several of them would have lost their heads. Literally.

The large sword continued to fly a moment longer before the longer end embedded itself on the thick trunk of a nearby tree. In an instant, a figure materialized, standing on top of the hilt of the sword, his naked back turned. He was wearing a camouflage-style armguards and leg warmers and wore simple teal pants. Titled in an angle he wore the forehead protector of the Hidden Mist with a line carved through, bandages wrapped around his mouth in a style similar to Kakashi. "Well well well!" her teacher exclaimed as he slowly approached the ninja. "If it isn't the Hidden Mist's missing-nin Momochi Zabuza-kun!"

Sakura gulped her nervousness down as she reached down for a weapon in her pouch.This was her chance. She pulled one out and was ready to charge forward, but was stopped short by Kakashi. "Get back." he said.

"What? Why?" she protested.

"This one's on a whole other level." he answered. Sakura took a step back. She never saw her teacher this serious before. "It will be a little tough…" Kakashi said as his hand grabbed his own forehead protector that covered his left eye and moved it upwards a little. "…Unless I do this."

Unbeknownst to all of them, at that same precise moment three figures that carefully concealed their presences away from the group about to be engaged in battle arrived at the scene. The three members of the criminal organization named Akatsuki silently smirked as they sat back and watched the battle that would no doubt end in their favor one way or another.

The actors were in position. The stage was set.

* * *

_**There is no more turning back.**_

_**For this is the path I have chosen.**_

_**- Tazuna**_

-

_**Tainted Demon Eyes**_

_**- Chapter Eight -**_

"**_Bridge Over Troubled Water"_**

_**-END-**_

**_

* * *

Author's Notes: _**

So ends Chapter Eight.

This chapter was more of a preparation chapter for the AU setting of the Wave Country Arc more than anything. Lots of new characters and revelations, many behind the scenes looks to see what they are plotting, and how everything is slowly falling into place and put into action.

I'm sure some of my readers were surprised that Tsunade turned out to be the third member of the mysterious group first introduced in Chapter Six, although I'm pretty sure Sasori and Deidara was an easy guess. As for why she is in the Akatsuki and why she is evil… it will eventually be revealed all in due time. There is an actual plotline underneath that made her turn out the way she is in this AU. On a related note, writing evil Tsunade trying to keep (some) of her original personalities still intact was a real challenge to write, and it ended up looking like she's a completely different person entirely (weak laugh). I noticed Deidara is a little out of character as well, but many fanarts and fanfictions write him off as a rather playful character, so I went with that train of thought. Of the three Akatsuki, Sasori is the most in character.

One problem I've been having thus far is my difficulty of writing a good scene for Sasuke as he seems to be a little neglected within my storyline thus far. For the life of me, however, I can't find something good to write about him since at this point he's just a… well, a womanizer and a show-off with some average skills. I hope I can come up with some ideas soon… he is one of the three main characters after all… orz

I think that pretty much sums things up… oh, one more thing. If my readers haven't noticed yet, I update my profile semi-frequently updating the current status of my stories. So for those who are curious on where my current progress of stories stands, I suggest you check it out from time to time.

As usual, reviews, comments, criticism are most welcome! Even a small comment would make my day as a fanfiction writer. Thanks for reading!

- Nes Mikel

_**

* * *

Japanese Word Translations in Chapter Eight (in order of appearance): **_

**_shinobi _**– literal translation is "those who stealth". Another word for ninjas.

**_ninja _**– a member of a class of 14th-century Japanese mercenary agents who were trained in the martial arts and hired for covert operations such as assassination and sabotage. Note that the ninja's in this fic is not based off real life, but based off the ninja's in "Naruto"

**_kunoichi _**– female ninjas. Literal translation is "nine is one." If one combines the three kanji's (one of the three types of the Japanese alphabet) that make up the word kunoichi, it becomes another kanji that means "woman".

**_jounin_** – expert-class ninjas on the ninja hierarchy

**_kanji – _**one of the three Japanese alphabet.

**_ku – _**lit trans: "air".

**_nin_** – shortened version of the word 'ninja'.

**_chakra _**– one of the seven centers of spiritual energy in the human body according to yoga philosophy. This is in real life, by the way. In "Naruto" they are the necessary spiritual energy you need to perform ninjutsu, genjutsu (illusion techniques), certain forms of taijutsu (physical combat techniques), and blood-limit techniques (inheritance techniques).

**_shouten no jutsu –_** "shape transfer technique". Requires a sacrifice. Overrides the sacrifice's control of body for another. The one who is then in control can control the body as if it was their own body until knocked unconscious or dies.

**_jutsu _**– technique

**_danna _**– a rather old-fashioned formal way of calling someone "mister".

**_hime _**– princess

**_sei - _**lit trans: "blue".

**_gyoku – _**lit trans: "jewel".

**_shouten –_** "shape transfer"

**_samurai –_** a professional warrior belonging to the Japanese feudal military aristocracy. In "Naruto", they function the same way, but some of them are mercenaries and bounty hunters that do not serve a lord.

**_katana _**– japanese-style swords

_**san **– _attached after a name, it is a way of calling people out of respect. It could mean "Mr", "Miss" or "Mrs".

**_shuriken _**– a small, star-shaped, quadruple-bladed throwing weapon used by ninjas. However, shuriken's shape and size can vary widely. The example I gave in this explanation is just the most common form of shrunken.

**_akatsuki _**– lit trans: "red moon". A mysterious criminal organization in "Nartuo".


End file.
